Thursday, June 5, 2008

In the Name of Education

I discovered something about myself this week. I find it easy to spend money in the name of education! It is easy for me to admire cute clothes,very cool kitchen stuff, fun furniture and yet walk out of a store with my hands empty and my money in tact....although the very cute ocean tablescape at Pottery Barn did give me pause for a minute.

You see, this week I have been in shopping heaven...and eating heaven as well but that is for another blog. Dave and I spent the week in Denver and for a small town girl who was excited when Wal-Mart finally made it to our town, 3 full days in the big city is nothing short of sweetness! Dave was working during the day so I had long days stretching out before me where I could do whatever I wanted....no one else to consider....no boys ready to be done and move on...no one waiting for me to get back...just lots and lots and lots of stores...each one different from the next! Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrell, Chicos....all in one place! Amazing! I meandered through these store feeling very proud of myself that despite my salivating over so many cute things I did not drop a dime! I am so good! My husband will be so proud!

You do know that pride cometh before the fall...and my fall started at The Bookies! The Bookies is my most favorite store in Denver. It is not in any of the fancy malls, it is not even located in the nicer parts of town. It is found in a little strip mall on Colorado and Mississippi. Its marquee is very humble but when you walk into this store....ahhhhh the joy! Books everywhere, new books, old books, used books....books and books and books and teaching stuff....curriculum.....planners.....math games.....puzzles.....maps. I can get lost in this place for hours. There are new discoveries to be made in every nook and cranny. This is my kind of store and here is where all my best intentions to just browse without spending any money are shot down. After all I NEED this stuff. I am a homeschooling mom and so books and anything educational is very important to our home and our family....thus the floor to ceiling wall to wall built in bookshelf in my basement! Even though I could probably open my own store with what I already own...there is always something in The Bookies that has my name on it although I usually don't know what it is until I see it. After all anything I spend at The Bookies is justified...it is in the name of education after all and there is nothing quite like it in Rifle....or in Grand Junction for that matter so I must take advantage of this amazing opportunity. It would be a crime to walk out empty handed. Surely my husband would not expect so great a sacrifice....no....I am sure he would be even disappointed if I left that store without spending any money! I'm sure of it! And so to keep my hubby from being disappointed I had to finally break down and open up my wallet and let the money flow....and once it starts flowing it often times does not want to quit....at least not when the buying being done is in the name of education. After my meager purchases at The Bookies I found myself at Hobby Lobby. This time though I was with Dave and together we were able to drop quite a few dimes in the name of education....more rockets to launch....a paper airplane launcher....crafts and art supplies to help keep the kids busy on hot afternoons in the summer....all in the name of education. As I was making these purchases and finding it a little easier each time to open my purse and hand out my credit card I began to think about that cute tablescape at Pottery Barn....hmmmmmm....lots of different colors....we could talk about the science of color....oh yes....there were some shells and fishing net on the tablescape as well....that could lend itself to a discussion of oceanography and the fishing industry....maybe I can give in and buy the tablescape.....all in the name of education of course.

2 comments:

Joan said...

It was good to see that you fully understand the importance of education and use it to the fullest advantage. The article you wrote was great---I enjoyed reading every word. If you write a book, I will buy it and laugh all the way through--on second thought with some of your other blogs, I may shed a tear or two also.
Keep up the good work.
Love you

Joan said...

I guess my last note to "In the Name of Education" was not accepted or didn't go through because this is all new to me.
A good lesson indeed that anything that will improve your mind is well worth diving into, no matter the cost. I'm glad you had a good time in Denver and enjoyed all the fun shopping. Sounds like good reading is in store for you now. Anything to share? Also, fun things for the boys to do. Looks like a good summer coming up.

 
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