Shopping Alone
My wife and I seldom go shopping together. My shopping trips are short, hers are long. I know what I want, she doesn’t. I buy what I need, and go home. She likes to pack a lunch and make a day of it. Hers is let’s go and look around and we may discover that there is something we need that we didn’t know we needed which is my definition of something we don’t need.
So when I needed a new computer chair I didn’t invite her to come with me. It would be a short trip, and she knew it. I was going to IKEA one of her favorite stores, and she wanted to go, but she knows shopping with me when I’m on a mission is not much fun, and so she didn’t even get out the picnic basket.
She did take out her IKEA catalog and asked if I’d like to look at the section on computer chairs before I left. It sounded like a good Idea.
“Here let me show you,” she said, and started flipping through the pages. She stopped, “look at this wouldn’t these little tables be great in the family room,” she said.
“I don’t see the computer chairs,” I said.
“Yes computer chairs,” she said and continued flipping the pages, and then stopped.
“Computer chairs?” I said.
“No, bookcases,” she replied.
“I want to see the computer chairs,” I said. I started getting that impatient feeling I get when we shop together.
“Well okay,” she said clearly disappointed that the shopping trip she’s wasn’t invited on was nearly over.
“Here they are; I like this one,” she said pointing, “and the desk that goes with it would be nice too,” she added.
“I have a desk,” I said. “It’s a table,” she said. “Same thing,” I said and gave her the look. “Enjoy your shopping,” she said, and gave me a sweet kiss goodbye.
There is more to the story than I’ve told, and so to be fair let me come clean. If the shopping trip is to a bookstore, my motto is let’s go and look around, and we may discover that there is something we need that we didn’t know we needed which is my definition of time well spent and my wife’s definition of, it figures.
July 16th, 2007 at 8:02 am
LOL… Funny story..
Oh I can’t stand to go shopping. I hate it. I haven’t purchased any furniture in over ten years. I haven’t purchased any new clothes in over a year. But then I’m an artist, so no one expects me to have a pretty house and fancy clothes.
It’s true though that most women like to shop. However, some men like to shop too. I went shopping with a friend from out of town a few months ago. We spent two hours at this store… I forget the name of it.. sells mostly clothes but also other miscellaneous stuff.
Two hours! By the time we left, I was feeling claustrophobic and tired and extremely bored. But he was a guest from out of town, so I didn’t have the heart to say anything about it.
He ended up with a basket full of all kinds of stuff. He spent what seemed like an eternity picking out a manicure kit (I think that’s what it’s called). They came in all different little designs and he just couldn’t make up his mind. Do you prefer this one, he asks, showing me a black one, or this one, which had some clever theme. I feign to care and say, “Oh the black one, for sure!”, hoping that this will put an end to searching for manicure kits.
I picked up a few things out of boredom, but ended up putting them back as we neared the checkout counter.
July 16th, 2007 at 11:54 am
JoAnn,
After reading your comment I realized I hadn’t told the whole story so I’ve added a paragraph, and “that’s the rest of the story.”
I use that one myself, anything to shorten the trip.
July 18th, 2007 at 4:59 am
I could have penned this from my own experience. For me, “browsing” is acceptable behavior in three places: bookstores (think Barnes & Noble or Borders), hardware/building supply places (think Home Depot or Lowes), and the internet. Roomie is like your wife. She gets miffed when I won’t go to the mall with her, but as soon as she utilizes the little plastic card, all is forgiven, all is well.
July 18th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
I hate to shop. Give me the good old internet every time.
We are both…go in, get it, get out.
Thank God.
July 18th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
Great story, by the way! Thanks for sharing.
July 22nd, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Ah, it’s marital bliss at Janie’s house.
July 23rd, 2007 at 9:21 am
Home Depot, no way, that means work. I’ll have to tell the story sometime of when my wife came home from Home Depot with a miter saw and some baseboard molding and said, “I have the saw for four hours do you know how to use it?”
July 24th, 2007 at 2:25 am
home depot is not work. home depot is heaven on earth for men. ikea is heaven on earth for women. sorry, it is that simple.
jk
July 24th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
There’s a Home Depot in the West Bank? Is that where they get the materials to build the wall?
July 26th, 2007 at 7:27 am
Is that where they get the materials to build the wall?
August 9th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
nah, there’s no home depots anywhere in israel (meaning no heaven on earth for men, since we do have ikea). the materials to build the wall come from- wait for it- arab cement factories. gotta love it.
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Two months ago I went into a shoe store with my wife. I picked a shoe off the shelf that was labeled with my shoe size and tried it on. It fit, so I took it along with the box with the other shoe to the cashier, paid for it, and walked out of the store. My total time in the store: about 3 minutes.
About 50 feet out of the store I noticed that my wife was not with me, and looking back I could see her standing beside the cashier’s line, mouth open and no sign of life in her eyes. For a moment I thought I would have to call 911 and get a paramedic dispatched to get her to walk again.
She simply could not believe that I would take the first shoe I tried and buy it without first trying on dozens of other shoes.
It’s a guy thing, so it goes…..
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