SOL27....Shopping

Shopping

     After work today, I ran to Target to get a few things. Let's all stop there and realize my mistake. Target. For a few things. Has anyone ever went to Target for just a few things? I should have known better. I should have turned around and walked out the second I saw the dollar section, right up front. That's how they get you. That dollar section just draws you in. Why does everything have to be so cute? And so cheap? I find myself buying random things like Star Wars gift bags because eventually down the road I'll need them for someone, right? 

     I always tell myself, walk in, keep your head down, and go straight to what you need. Get in, get out. Out of the thousand times I've told myself that, never once has it worked. Not once. I immediately knew my mistake when the first thing I saw was bulletin board borders. In the actual dollar section. Instead of running past like I told myself I would, I made a beeline for the shelf. I had no self control. No self control at all. As I got closer, I eyed the different borders they had available. A lot of them looked Easter related, which wasn't exactly what I was looking for. However, a few of them simply had fun easter colors, bright orange, pink, blue, purple. 

     I picked up a few to look through the rest of the bin. The ones in my hand looked like colorful bubbles big and small. I liked that one. I glanced at how long each border was and then how many were in each package. I tried to gauge how many I would need to cover one of the bulletin boards in the classroom, probably several. Alright, so they were only a dollar, but I would need to buy at least four or five of each to cover the whole board. Was it worth it? As I sat there browsing different styles I decided I'd let myself get one. Now, which one?

     I still had the one in my hand with all the colorful bubbles. There was another one in the stack of different shades of purple and green. There was another one that almost looked tie-dye, I liked that one. I sat contemplating the pros and cons of each one. It would have been easier if I knew what else would be on the board with it so I could match colors. I didn't have that though, so I just tried to pick one that would match with everything. I bit my lip and glanced between the three options. I couldn't decide. As much as I loved the tie-dye, it probably wouldn't match everything. The bubbles seemed simplest. I started digging around in the bin for more of the same pattern. One...two...three....I dug deeper. Wait...there were no more. I double checked and then triple checked. All that contemplation and I couldn't even get the bubble ones, there weren't enough. 

     In a moment of rationality, I put them all back. No more contemplating. I couldn't get the bubble ones, the most reasonable ones, so I wouldn't get any. I'm saving money. I didn't need them that badly anyway. I stepped away from the shelf and turned to walk away. I smiled, I did good. I talked myself out of buying something. This was a good start to the shopping trip. I didn't need them, and I didn't get them. Good job! As I turned away though, something else caught my eye on a lower shelf. They were mini pails, for holding pencils and such, with little handles and everything. They looked like pails brought to the beach, filled with shovels and different shaped animals for digging in the sand. Very cute!

     As I picked up one of the cups to look closer, I realized my mistake. These didn't require matching or having a certain amount for anything. I would need some other excuse for not buying them. Even as I tried to convince myself I didn't need them, I was already visualizing different places around the room to place them, and they didn't even need to hold pencils. Some could hold markers. Erasers. Scissors. Popsicle sticks. The options were endless. I could even have a couple with plants in them! Plants would look adorable in these! I leaned down to look at a few more of the pails and the different designs on them. There were only five different designs, so if I bought several of them, I'd have repeats. That wasn't an issue. 

     No. Stop. I don't need more than five. I don't even need the few I'd already grabbed. And when have I ever planted anything? This was an irrational buy, totally unnecessary. But they were only a dollar each...I could at least grab a few? They'd come in handy eventually, right? Without giving it another thought I put the three in my hand in the cart and turned away. Oh well, they were in the cart now. Nothing I could do about it....