The Girl with the 12 Scarves

We finally did it. My friend Amy and I finally completed a girl's night out with our daughters! It's been in the making for possibly over a year now...As we suspected, it was quite fun.

When Confessions of a Shopaholic came to the Harlan Theatre, we saw it as a sign that the time had come for female bonding. Amy, being a recovered shopaholic herself, was very interested in the subject matter. (Only joking, Amy.) But as I watched the mindless and entertaining show, something didn't feel right. That "something" continued to gnaw at me, growing in the pit of my stomach as I giggled through a few of the scenes. Then the movie came to an end. We stood up and as soon as I caught sight of my daughter's big, beautiful brown eyes, I understood the source of my uneasiness.

It could be my daughter -- the shopaholic who carelessly racks up an exorbitant credit card bill for unaffordable fashion and dodges credit collectors. That could be my Alex. The protagonist was also known as "the girl with the green scarf." Out of curiousity, I snuck into Alex's closet to see how many scarves she's accumulated in her short 11 years. I found 12. (I'm sure there's more since she tends to stick her belongings in various nucks and crannies throughout the house.) Then I went to my closet. I found two. One was a gift from a friend at Christmas (thanks Annette for the lovely scarf from Dubai which can also be found at Odd+Ends) and the other might have been a relic from high school. I decided it was time to have a little chat with Alex.

"Al, I need to tell you my thoughts on the movie the other night. While I enjoyed the show, I didn't agree that they portrayed the debt collector as a bad guy. If you can't afford something, you simply shouldn't buy it. The debt collector was merely doing his job and 'the girl with the green scarf' was shirking responsibility. It wasn't right."

"Oh, Mom. You're a banker. Of course you think that way."

This comment left me speechless, and a little bit perturbed. Luckily, Doug heard the comment. Fortunately, he wasn't speechless and immediately gave Alex a tongue-lashing that left her speechless.

Apparently, spendthrifty Alex has a few lessons to learn, but I think some progress has been made. Yesterday, she picked out her Easter dress, at 40% off and didn't beg for accessories or shoes. Perhaps she just gonna have to make do. With one of her twelve scarves...