Shopping...

...with the future Mother-in-Law. Don't get me wrong, I love her, but we are polar opposites. My love is most comfortably expressed from a distance, typically through cute birthday/Christmas/thank you cards. We were much closer until almost two years ago when we had a falling out. She tends to nag, she had been doing it all day, and she said something that truly hurt me. I replied with something rude, which I swear is out of character for me. But it was very rude and she flew off the handle. It was a little much considering I had never given her so much as a frown for the past year I had been dating her son, but it's all water under the bridge. Except that this last year I haven't visited his family nearly as much and I am half afraid to say anything for fear it will be taken the wrong way. We aren't on rocky footing, we just don't understand each other. She is very outgoing and loves to go out to clubs with friends. I am very shy and quiet, and the few clubs I have been to are not dance clubs, they are hole-in-the-wall music venues where my fiance's bands have played. And let's be honest, I was only there to support him. So when I asked him to make sure it would be ok to visit this summer, he responded that his mother didn't have a problem with it, but wanted to know if I would go out and do things with her, specifically shopping. Nick's taking summer classes, and he works evenings, so why not? What else am I going to do alone in his house for two weeks?

Today was shopping trip number one. I'm not sure if there will be more, but I'm calling it that anyway. It went remarkably well, just like our shopping trips pre-misunderstanding. She needed to run out for shoes, found a pair for both of us, decided I needed to go to this other store with her, wheedled me into telling her what I liked, and bought just as much for me as she did for herself. I know she likes to spoil me because she only has sons, but I feel bad because it's not her job to buy clothes for me. And I don't even ask for anything! She begs me to tell her what I like until I cave on one item, the cheaper the better. But it's never enough. Today's spoils were a pair of plaid Sperrys (on sale, thank God), two pairs of striped panties, and a pair of white shorts. She wanted to get me a top, too, but fortunately the one I agreed to try on didn't fit.

At some point during all of my resistance, I realized that I was actually kind of enjoying myself. My mom doesn't do much shopping since she was diagnosed with Rheumatoid, and when she does shop, she is limited in the clothes she can wear comfortably and the time she can spend searching for it. Even with the guilt I was feeling at being spoiled, I had fun walking around and giving her my opinion on clothes and shoes. Maybe I like shopping more than I realized. I just have to keep this realization in check, lol.