The Minnesota Farm Woman

Several years ago, when our daughter was a teenager, HE surprised us both after a Sunday morning family brunch by stopping at a local big box store for a shopping excursion. I am using the words “shop” and  “excursion” rather loosely here. We were surprised because he  1) Hates to shop. 2) Hates big box stores. 3) Really, really hates to shop. Our quiet,  soft-spoken husband and father suddenly turned into a drill sergeant. “YOU!” He said sternly, pointing to me. “We need toilet paper and bread!” (I am admittedly exaggerating a teeny bit here, but it makes for a better story.) Pointing to our daughter, he said “You go get dog food and garbage bags, and I need to get some new tennis shoes and a belt.” Looking at his watch, he said, “Meet me back here in 10 minutes.” Both of us, not the follow-my-orders-and-obey type of women, were too surprised to do anything but scurry down our respective aisles. We were back in the car, start to finish, in 15 minutes flat, and HE was quite pleased with himself. Never mind that we could have found $100 worth of other things with our usual method of wandering up and down the aisles looking at everything. Now THAT is shopping. I did go back the next day to get everything else we needed. I can think of another shopping trip HE made around that time. My daughter and I have always agreed that he is really difficult to buy a Christmas gift for because he never tells us what he wants and/or needs. Ever.  He always says “I will like whatever you give me.”  Do you see what I mean? Difficult. We often put our heads together are quite jealous when one of us comes up with the first good idea. That particular shopping trip was done somewhere around the first of December. Prime Christmas shopping time. He came home with several bags of clothing that day. “I bought myself a few things like pants, shirts, socks, and even a new wallet. It made me remember how much I HATE shopping!” Sigh. I don’t even remember what we got him that year. This year  was different. HE actually told us that he would like to visit his sister in Florida and would like to have a plane ticket. Done! While he was gone, I cleaned out cupboards and cabinets. When all the dust settled, I decided that there needs to be a lot less shopping done around here because we have too much stuff.  HE certainly won’t argue with that.