Day 71 -- Being a Friendly Visitor to an elderly woman

"Giving opens the way for receiving."
---Florence Scovel Shinn

Today I took the elderly woman with whom I visit on a shopping outing to the new Bloomingdale's store. It was the first time there for each of us, and while I'm not at all a shopping afficianado, we had a wonderful time browsing around the store.

I have a warm spot for "Bloomie's" since there was one in White Plains, New York near where I grew up, and an outing there was always a special occasion. It was always considered a splurge in my family to go there, yet we did go on occasion, and I always felt pretty special and under the illusion that I was fashionable after leaving the store with a clothing purchase.

Though I haven't been there in over 20 years, to this day I can remember the exact layout of the whole store, where the dresssing rooms were, and even the food area, where I'd salivate over the gourmet chocolates and other out-of-my-price-range food treats. Memory sure is a funny thing!

So while I wouldn't choose shopping as a way to spend my free time, it was actually fun as a volunteering experience. We didn't buy a thing, rather just went from department to department looking at and admiring the merchandise: shoes, handbags, scarves, sweaters, suits, coats, makeup, and even housewares. How can anyone sleep with 8 pillows on the bed, or take the time to take them on and off the bed each day, we wondered as we looked at the elaborately made beds!

We were perplexed about why a sit-down cafe of some kind wasn't built into the store, as that would seem a natural thing to have, especially since women are no doubt the primary customers and many women love to shop and socialize simultaneously! Anyway, on our way out we got to sample some Chanel perfume, which smelled sooo good, almost good enough for me to buy, were it not way out of my price range.

I totally enjoyed the company of my new elderly friend, a woman who is a real class act both in the way she dresses and acts. And so we're planning to go to Tyson's Corner Center next time, for a bit of shopping and lunch. I, the n0n-shopper, am already looking forward to that!