This incident originally appeared waaay back in 2009, my first kick at the can that is school supply shopping. In 2010, it was a non-event, with lowered standards, and a wee bit more savvy, on my part.
2011 was a guerilla affair. A free afternoon and a “let’s get this shit over with” attitude. The option of a pre-packaged bunch of supplies, through the kids’ school was offered to me. And the masochist in me teamed up with my swiss-cheese brain to deny me that option.
So today, I dove in, list in hand. I was doing well, not being a slave to the list, making flexibility my watch word. Until I got to this item:
“1 – exercise book (40 pg) – Redi tabs with tabs (4 per pak)
WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT??? Books with tabs? One book with 4 tabs, but a pack of 4 of them?
I called my anytime-ready-to-go friend for these situations. (I have no idea why she still takes my calls, this time of year.) Even she came up flabbergasted.
And as I felt a faint scent of struggle coming on, I was rewarded.
With my very own personal shopper.
No kidding. One of the helpers at Lulu Hypermarket asked us if he could help. We joked about the screening process for children who didn’t show up with the right size glue stick.
