All About Jimmy

Today was our 3rd annual trip to the Gilroy outlets, just me and Jimmy for school clothes shopping. He loves to come here, I took a couple of days off--we stay at the same hotel and we go out to dinner and a movie and it's two days dedicated to just Jimmy.

He loves the stores here and has already burned through most of his school clothes shopping money. He's bought 4 pairs of jeans, 4 sweatshirts, 4 tee shirts, 3 pairs of shoes, two back packs and an overnight bag. Not bad considering these are all his favorite name brand items: Volcom, Fox, Vans, Quicksilver, Nike. I've shopped a little bit too. One thing I've learned in my old age is how cheap I've become. I am just as happy shopping at Marshalls, Ross, Kohls and TJ Maxx instead of Nordstrom, Macys or Saks. I am just as thrilled with my cheaper purchases and I actually enjoy the hunt of finding a good deal. I never pay full price.

Jimmy's been doing his best to talk me into paying the sales tax on his purchases. Being 10, he doesn't quite understand if something is $20.00 why he should have to pay the government $2.00. What can I say? I don't quite understand it all that well either. It's not like I can say, oh well, you see son, the sales tax money goes to create better roadways and highways as we sit in perpetual traffic from constant road construction that seems to not improve anything; oh, and the sales tax goes to into the school budget so that you can have important things in school like Music, Physical Education and Libraries...oh yeah, you don't get those things anymore. Hmmmm. Well we know it's not going to state parks and beaches so, sorry, not sure where the money goes exactly you have to pay it just because they said so.

Ironically, I cannot sleep--the one night I have a quiet bed all to myself with black out curtains and no back kicking Doodle to worry about, it's 1:00 am and I'm all wound up.