Mom’s Shopping Spree

My family followed mom to shop today. Wow, let me tell you, my mom is surely a great shopper! She can go shopping up to 7 to 8 hours a day without buying a day, and she can tell us that she has enjoyed her shopping trip. Maybe women are genetically modified to shop for household products, clothes, food and also to window shop, strolling around the mall for the whole day without buying anything.

This is particularly unacceptable to men. While their husbands go with them shopping, trying to bear with them for that day, the kids will surely make noise. Like my brother and I. Mom took us here, took us there, went to buy shoes and bla bla bla.

Buying shoes with my mom is the worse thing I can ever imagine (worse then me getting an F9 for a subject). She enters the shop, look for a pair of high-heel shoe that she thinks it looks nice, then ask the lady to bring another size of the shoe if that pair doesn’t fit. This will take about 30 minutes, since she’s spending a lot of time choosing her best pair of shoes.

When the shopkeeper comes out from the store with many pairs of the identical shoes, mom will try them ONE BY ONE, walk around the place, asking us whether she looks nice in them. We would normally say a big yes or not she’ll go choosing shoes again (another 30 minutes). However, after judging whether the shoes are comfortable, she will not go straight to the cashier, but then choose a few the most comfortable pair of identical shoes.

After that, like a mad scientist examining a strain of bacteria, mom would check the “selected” pairs of shoes carefully, ONE BY ONE. This is will take quite a lot of time, ranging from 45 minutes to an hour. This is driving us (except for my mom) nuts, including the shopkeeper who looks very impatient.

Finally mom got the PREFECT SHOE, then she’ll check the price. If mom goes: “Oh it’s too expensive!” we’re doomed, as she’ll repeat the entire thing again.

Next is buying furniture. We’re planning to get a new sofa, and it is really a bad decision for us to bring mom along. Argh, not that I don’t what her to follow us, but you’ll sympathize me, and not her, after reading this:

Mom will start to see what type of sofa do the manufacturer has. Then they’ll bring her the catalogue, and mom will look through the extremely thick (thicker than a dictionary, duh!) catalogue, and ask for advise and comments from the manufacturer. They’ll recommend her a few, and she’ll start picking.

Pick here pick there pick everywhere:

“Aiya, and hand-rest doesn’t look good.”
“Erm, I don’t like the colour of the sheets.”
“Can you change this back-rest for me? Looks really awful.”
“Are they the same colour as the kitchen table I bought from you last time?”
“Will they look good in my living room?”
“The legs are too thick, my maid very hard to mop the floor underneath leh.”
“Why the design so weird one har?”*

* And the list goes on…

Argh, this is driving me nuts! After an hour mom chose the best design and the entire family was so relieved. Home sweet home!