Many Happy Returns

I love shopping. I really, really love it. I love the buzz of a new store. I love pushing my cart around and filling it up with random stuff. I love the calm, quietness that I rarely get to partake in while browsing the clothing racks alone. I love clipping the tags off a new shirt and wearing it for the first time. I love picking out new adorable clothes for my kids to wear. As I said, I really love shopping. There is one small aspect of it that I don't love though. I hate that shopping always leads to a return.

It doesn't matter if I'm shopping for myself, Ron, or the kids, there is always an item (or twelve!) that needs to go back to the store. Wrong color, size, flavor, style, whatever. There is always something. The problem with this situation is that I'm really bad at just going into a store to return something. Like I said, I love shopping. So, as I enter the store to return the unwanted item, I usually end up finding something on my way in or out that I purchase and bring home with me. I can usually rationalize the buying part with the fact that I'm returning something, so it's like spending free money. And what good is free money if you aren't going to spend it? I know it doesn't really work that way, but just play along, OK? So anyway, buying while returning usually just leads to another return. And the cycle repeats itself. Over and over and over.

Today I put the babies down for their naps and headed out of the house with an armload of stuff in various store bags to be returned. I hit 7 stores within a 10 mile radius in 2 and a half hours. When I walked back in the house with a new armload of stuff Ron looked at me with raised eyebrows and said, "Were the stores not taking returns today?" I simply replied, "Oh, no, they were. I just picked up some things that we needed while I was out." Being the ever-loving husband that he is, he just shook his head and left it at that. He gets me. God bless that man.