Last week in Bible study I made a commitment that I would try to serve others past the point of comfort. Little did I realize that this commitment would be put into action during a shopping trip with Miss Betty Lou-Who.
It all started innocently enough. Miss Betty needed to make a trip to the mall to buy some new shoes. It seemed simple enough. Miss Betty knew what type of shoes she wanted, the name brand, and style. Eight hours later; however, I staggered into my room and fell onto the bed; I had just “survived” what might be the world’s most memorable shopping trip.
On the way to the shopping mall Miss Betty seemed to be her typical self. She commented on how this would be her last trip to the mall ever because she was sure to die shortly. She noted to the car mirror as well as myself that her bones were deteriorating under her skin and she was sure this was causing her new wrinkles (keep in mind she is turning 89 next month). On the way we had to stop and ask for some directions. This wonderful lady spent 10 minutes giving us perfect directions to the mall. While we were driving away Miss Betty said loudly “I am so glad I am not married to a girl like that, she was way too wordy.” I sincerely hope that the kind lady didn’t hear this comment through the open windows.
Something that I did not mention in my first post about Miss Betty is that she has very expensive taste. Her husband owned an insurance company when he was alive, and provided quite well for her. The first time I met her she was wearing Coach shoes, carrying a Coach purse, and claiming that she cannot wear anything that is not a designer name-brand. Now, I occasionally shop for clothes at Wal-Mart, I rarely pay full price for an item, and I find it completely ridiculous to break the bank over a new pair of shoes. As you can see Miss Betty and I are on completely different pages when it comes to shopping. I take a much more male approach when I shop. I go to the store for a specific purpose, if I don’t find what I want in the first half an hour, I leave and decide I either don’t need the item, or I will try tackle it another day. Eight hours with Miss Betty taught me that shopping is an art form to some people.
We pulled up to Neiman Marcus, a name I had never heard before, but would soon become very familiar with. The valet parking men greeted Miss Betty by name and with a kiss on the check. That should have been my first clue that I should have run for the hills. We walked into the store only to be greeted by the top name brands, Gucci, Prada, Michael Kors, and the list goes on. There was also the opportunity to use a personal shopper should you wish to have some assistance in what were the latest must haves. I spent the next few hours patiently walking behind Miss Betty as she was greeted by each of the sales people by name and then as she examined the clothing, tried on a $300.00 Burberry blouse, a $500.00 denim jacket, considered a plain t-shirt by DKNY that was only $125.00 (what a steal). We ended up in the shoe department where Miss Betty decided that the $400.00 pair of Fendi ballet slippers was just what she needed.
The entire experience was topped off with us sitting in the restaurant at Neiman Marcus sipping a specialty broth in tea cups the size of my thumb, and eating pop-overs with strawberry butter. By the time I left, the valet boys knew my name that I was from Canada, and how long I was going to be in the U.S. I even received a kiss on the cheek from one of the boys as he waved us off.
After the entire experience I have decided I’m still happy with my Wal-Mart brand clothing, and $7.00 sale shoes and I will be praying that another shopping trip is not in the near future. I’m afraid this girl can’t handle all the culture!
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