It has been a fairly busy couple of days around here. I started the week with the mindset that I wanted to get as much back-to-school stuff taken care of as early in the week as possible so that I could relax during the last few days before school actually starts.
I’ve been trying to get in touch with my son’s school for several days because we hadn’t received his class schedule yet, nor had we received any communication from the school telling us when or where we should be getting them. I looked their number up on their (nearly useless) website, but I kept getting voicemail. On Monday, I called the district office and was told that they were in meetings, but should be back shortly. I still only got voicemail. Tuesday, I called the district office again, but spoke to the real receptionist this time (she had been out on Monday). I explained to her my experience in not being able to reach the middle school, and she was extremely helpful and gave me nearly every person’s number she could think of at the school. I then asked her to confirm for me the main number to that school. The number she gave me was one digit off from what I got from the (completely useless) website. Once I called the right number, one that was actually answered by school personnel, I was told that we had to go into the school to pick up schedules. So, off we went. Turned out that not only were we able to pick up his schedule, we were able to get his textbooks, turn in his locker combination, and speak to his band director about getting his instruments back to the school.
The next day, yesterday, we grabbed up the euphonium and trombone, toted them up to the school and then drove to UHCL to take care of my back-to-school needs. I got my textbooks, updated my student ID and picked up a new parking permit. From there, we drove over to the Baybrook Mall area. The kiddo’s been mowing lawns this summer and had about $100 burning a hole in his pocket. I told him that he needed to spend the money on something useful, like clothes for school, but that I wouldn’t restrict him on what clothes he bought. Hollister is a very popular brand right now, and certainly not one that I would buy him. We’re more Target and Wal-mart shoppers. But, he decided that he wanted one article of clothing that was a “popular” brand. I don’t have a problem with this, so long as he understands that I will never be a mom who will buy him all name-brands just because it’s popular. Besides, it’s his money. He worked for it and earned it, so I believe he should be able to spend it on what he wants – within reason. Anyway, I had heard of this store called Plato’s Closet, which is like a Goodwill except they only sell name brands and designer clothes. I figured that we could check it out first, and it they had what he was looking for he would be able to get more for his money. And, there was one near Baybrook Mall, which has an actual Hollister store, so if worse came to worst, we could just hop over to the mall to get what he wanted. What a dump. When I said that Plato’s Closet is like a Goodwill, I wasn’t kidding. It’s so disorganized and the people in there are so nasty…I felt dirty just walking into the store and really didn’t want to touch anything on their racks. After about 10 minutes of fruitless searching, being bumped into by unruly and unsupervised children, and getting dirty looks by other people pawing through the racks, I tapped my son and said that we were leaving. NOW. Once we got outside the store, I told him that Plato’s Closet was a dump, it was a waste of our time, and we were headed to Hollister to get what he wanted. The look of elation on his face was priceless. Once we got to the mall (a 2 minute drive, if that) and located the Hollister store (right across from the mall entrance we walked through), it took less than five minutes for him to find exactly what he wanted. And, the prices weren’t quite as high as I expected them to be. I figured that he’d be able to get a couple of t-shirts with his money, but he ended up walking out with a pair of jeans and a hoodie. Not bad! And he still had enough money left over to take me to lunch. Score!
When we got home, he modeled his new clothes for me, and I must say…name brands certainly do fit better than discount store clothes. I was honestly able to look at my son in his typical “teenaged boy uniform” of hoodie and jeans, and say that he looked hot. For being my son and a teenager, anyway. 
I’ve never seen a pair of jeans fit him so perfectly. He was so happy about what he’d bought that it was hours before he took his new clothes off, and then only because I insisted so they could be washed. His attitude about this shopping experience has been wonderful. He knows that I will still be buying the bulk of his wardrobe from cheaper, discount stores because that’s what I can afford. Besides, there’s no reason to buy underwear and socks from the mall! However, if he’s willing to work for it, he can earn money that will allow him to splurge from time to time on some nicer items from a better store. He’s okay with that. And so am I. He said that his only regret was that he knows he could have mown more lawns this summer and could have earned even more money, which would have let him buy another item or two. So, today he’s out drumming up more business to earn that money. Even though it’s raining, even though he only has four days of vacation left, he’s learned the lesson that I’ve been trying to teach him for many years now. Hard, honest work DOES pay off. If you want something and you’re willing to work for it, you can have it. But you can’t sit around the house, sitting on your ass, and expect those things to be handed to you simply because you exist. Life doesn’t work that way. I think it’s safe to say that the message has been received.
