"Pretty tuus"...

are the words I used as a young child to mimic my grandmother who loved shoes. When we would go shopping she was drawn as if by magnetic pull to every shoe department in every store in the mall. She would always say "Pretty shoes, Pretty shoes." I too love shoes, but more than that I loved shopping with my grandmother. She always took me shopping for school clothes if I was in Texas. My dad was in the military and we moved a lot. We traveled back home to Texas often, but not annually. I know there were several years between visits because we were out of the country on several occasions.

The boys and I have a similar tradition in keeping with shopping. It happened by accident. I didn't set out to make it a tradition. I love it for several reasons. First, I love traditions in general. I've tried to make traditions happen and they always seem forced, but when they happen without intent they take on a special meaning all their own. Second, I love the tie it gives me to my grandmother.

My grandmother was a generous lady in many ways. She always had to prepare your favorite meal if you were in town, and she kept the candy jars full of your favorites. While at grandma's goodies were unlimited. Even your parents eyes of displeasure would be overridden by her "leave 'em alone, they aren't here that often" reprimand. She also had a way of patting you. You wouldn't even realize it at first, then all of the sudden you realized she was patting your hair, leg or hand, and tapping her foot at the same time. It was a comforting pat; you knew you were loved. Grandma was also generous with her money when we went shopping for school clothes.

The boys never had a chance to go shopping with GG. She would have loved shopping with Wesley. He's as tireless as I was, he enjoys a good day at the mall and loves shoes. I've carried on, without intent, a portion of her love for shopping, with my boys.

Rather than buy a whole new school wardrobe, I just purchase a new shirt and pair of shoes for each boy for the first day of school. I spent many years buying a bunch of new outfits. It seemed pointless to buy new jeans and long sleeved shirts for September when the weather was still warm. Now I wait until mid-October to shop for cool weather clothing.

Today we made our annual train trip into Atlantic City for lunch and shopping. The boys drug me from shoe store to shoe store. We usually visit each store twice. They want to check out their options and then make their final purchases. We always eat lunch at a 'real' restaurant. I've banned fast food for the day!

Yes, Atlantic City has a great outdoor shopping mall The Walk. The mall is only a block and a half from the train. AC is very easy to drive into, but the boys really LOVE the train ride. There are also some great restaurants within walking distance, Ruby Tuesday's, Longhorn Steakhouse, The Melting Pot, Rainforest Cafe, Tun Tavern, Applebee's, and several others that I can't recall at this time.

We had a great time! Everyone has new shoes and a new outfit for the first day of school. We agreed the only thing that would have made the day better would have been for dad to be with us! (I know in spirit Grandma was with us too.)