Summer Vacation

Gotta love those summer vacations...no school, no work (you're probably saying "what?? no work??). Well, I'm having a different kind of summer from most this year. My child doesn't have school, and I don't have a job; so I guess you could say we are both on vacation together. Find job, pay summer camp, or stay home, have fun with child...which would you pick? Well, okay, so it's not always fun, but it's still better than working. One day we're bored and another we're jammed packed with chores, and then there's always those home grown activities that moms love to initiate and children hate to participate. But we get through them, and they almost always turn out to be enjoyable.

I also consider our time spent shopping together to be an education for my child, especially when shopping sales. It's a great way for children to learn how to spend money while saving money. We buy one, get one free, we do mail-in rebates, instant rebates, we clip coupons, etc., and so on. Then we can take our savings and go to a movie. Bet they don't teach that in school or summer camp. As a matter of fact, I'm sure they don't.

Just check out (no pun intended) some of the cashiers in the stores lately. Very true story titled, "Buying a Fence at Lowes, a Very Long Story." After hearing that Lowe's delivers and since I had already gone on the Lowe's website and found the fence I wanted, knew the price, how many sections I needed, and what other items I needed to go with it, I enter the store and go directly to a salesman (where the fences are) and ask him if they have this particular one in stock on the printed out paper from the internet that I carried with me. He takes me to the other end of the store to the gardening department and finds the fence for me among the flowers. I ask no questions; well except about the delivery. Delivery charge is $60, okay nevermind. The salesman informs me that I can also get 10% off if I apply for a Lowe's credit card which will only take a minute when I am paying for my purchase. I take the application with me. I go home and call my nephew and ask him if he could come with me to Lowe's with his pick-up truck to purchase my items. We go back to Lowe's the next day. After spending over a half hour waiting for someone to make an attempt to process this sale, I find out that the price on the internet is not the same price as in the store, but I can order it online at the online price and pick it up at the same store 'after it is shipped.' Okay, this makes a lot of sense. We ask to use their computer to go on the internet, but of course they don't have internet service in the store. I was willing to bet my life that if I ordered it online right then and there, the website would tell me it was 'ready for pickup.' and I would be getting the same fence that was sitting there as we spoke. Well, needless to say over another half hour later I decide that I'll just buy the fence at the in-store price and take my 10% off with my new Lowe's credit card. BIG MISTAKE! For yet over another half hour we had the pleasure of witnessing the head cashier, a second cashier, a manager and not sure who else look for a phone number to call regarding this credit card, which as it turned out I was unable to have because they couldn't 'verify my identity.' Okay, whatever, let's please get out of here. So we pay for the fence and after stepping outside to where we are supposed to pick it up, yet another half hour goes by and realize that it must be that no one is bringing us this fence. Well, guess what, we were right. After approaching an employee and finding out that he must have done a lot of drugs in his day, the fence was eventually brought out to us, and this was only after going to find him and removing him from chatting with yet another cashier. I told you this was a long story. Should I tell you just one more story about another shopping experience? I'll spare you.

I'll also spare my child and now that our chores are done, we will spend the rest of the summer doing our home grown activities, seeing movies, swimming, reading, and enjoying the beaches.