Failure to launch

Noranc

I'm a thirty-something working mom to the cutest little boy on earth, a child bride who just celebrated her 10th wedding anniversary, a TV addict, a bargain huntress, a lover of food, especially ice cream, and a self-professed word nerd. Being an editor with skirt! is something of a dream come true ...

Tuesday, July, 22, 2008

I tried to leave Target today without buying something, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. I was in the neighborhood (really!) and I had to return something. I couldn’t find a replacement I liked and I had left my diaper coupon at home, so after a moment of soul-searching, I started to walk out empty-handed.

“I can do this,” I told myself. I made it to the registers, then slid deftly through, no bulky cart or bags slowing me down.

And then I saw it. A double-pack of my favorite cereal, quiet and unassuming in a nearby shopper’s cart. “Limited time value pack” cried out to me in tasteful red letters. Then I remembered the four-pack of hand soap I had picked up and put down last time. I wondered if it was still there. I turned, defeated.

Four more items later, diapers in hand, I returned to the scene of the crime, shamefaced. My will had been broken, but my bargains were strong.