Something Weird Happened To Me Last Week

Every Tuesday night throughout the month of April my oldest has honor band practice for an hour and a half.  Because the school she goes to for honor band is quite a distance from our home it is up to her sister and I to find something to do while we wait.

The first night was easy.  We went to the grocery store.  Last week, however we decided to kill time at a Big Lots store.  I hadn't been in a Big Lots for well over a year so we dropped off Big Sis and Little Sis and I headed on over, as the youngest put it so eloquently to "buy stuff we don’t need".

As we trolled the aisles we found tons of crap nobody needs, she was right about that, and as it turned out we didn't buy anything we didn't need.  I bought two packages of Crystal Light lemonade for a dollar each, a small bottle of Pantene shampoo & conditioner for 65¢ and a hair brush for $2.50 to replace the one belonging to the youngest.  She accidentally sat on it and broke the handle off last month.

My daughter was quick to point out the electric hard boiled egg maker.  I agreed with her that it seemed a little silly to buy an entire appliance that is only good for making hard boiled eggs.  She then picked up a strange looking tubular device that we figured out was used for uncorking wine.  She didn't think it would fit in any of our drawers and she was correct.  My wine corker fits in the palm of my hand.

After going up and down all the aisles, some more than once, we went over to the furniture department and tried out all the beds.  I didn't find a single one that convinced me I'd get a better night's sleep if I bought it.  We checked out the leather bound recliners and huge sofas with all their coffee and end tables and lamps.  I began to feel ill.

I sat down on one of the couches and surveyed the vast expanse of floor space crammed full of wonderful home décor options and furnishings.  All I could think about was how heavy everything would be to move to vacuum under or rearrange.  How it would take more than one strong individual to pick up that sofa or king sized bed and move it into a home or apartment.  The thought that I couldn't pick up and move most of this stuff myself was a harsh reality.  I literally felt nauseous.

I need to be able to maintain my independence and not be hampered by large heavy pieces of anything.  In my mind those large and heavy pieces not only represented a physical burden but an emotional one as well.  I think it will be important for me in the future to remember that if I can't pick it up and move it myself I probably don't want it.  I'm sure I can furnish a home that way. 

We paid for our few little items and got back in the car.  We had only killed an hour but we decided to go back to the school parking lot and have a conversation instead.  We also decided to bring the Farkle game with us next time.