Today, I stepped way out of my comfort zone, going to a shopping mall with my two eldest daughters. I understand why they would want to go, it has been on both of their bucket lists for a while. My eldest had been previously with some friends, but had been at me to go with her, for quite some time.
I'm not sure that christmas week was the best time to actually give in and go, but they both really wanted to buy gifts for their friends, with money that they had earned. So how could I say no.
They are well aware of the true price of fashion and gift buying and I am only here to guide them, not dictate what they do, not when it comes to that anyway. It's important for me to respect their choices, just as it is for them to respect mine.
So I was awake early this morning, so that I could get every one up, fed and ready to go. My youngest was staying with a friend, because bringing her a long would have been too much. I find shopping malls to be very over stimulating and I really don't think my 5 year old needs to exprience it, not yet anyway.
We were on our way by 10 and in town by 10;30 to catch the bus. This part of the adventure I enjoyed, as it was wonderful to see how green everwhere was after all the rain we recieved. we also climbed higher up, along the most windy roads.
My tummy felt a little funny at times, but I'm pretty good when travelling, never really having any problems with motion sickness, plus the views that lay out in front of me, were such a wonderful distraction.
We arrived just before midday, only to discover that we needed to cross the highway, to gt to the Mall. This part I enoyed quite a lot less, I must say.
After the first shop, I was feeling quite overwhelmed. The very bright lights, the stale air and the frequent intercom announcements, were all too much for my senses. But Ijust grined and carried on. I wasn't here for me.
Plus it was nice to be with my girls, somewhere different, getting to see how they were interacting with this environement. Which I must say, they seemed to be enjoying quite a lot.
But I really, couldn't help thinking about all those products in each shop and there were a lot of shops. I could only begin to imagine, the amount of waste produced, just to get them to the shelves and then what would eventually b just thrown away, as things come in and out of fashion.
I just felt rather uncomfortable and out of place there. By four thirty, I was ready to leave. Not so ready though, to tackle the pathway to our bus, which included passing over the same highway once again. I had assumed we would not need to cross it on the return journey.
I have photos from the day unfortunately. I didn't bring my camera, I just didn't want to have anything extra to be responbile for, to be honest. Having the navigate the mall, was enough for me. I was exhausted when we boarded the bus, I felt asleep within minutes, very grateful that my girls were old enough to allow me to do so.
I awoke about 15 minutes before we reached our destination. Enough time for me to fully wake up, before the walk home. Where I am so glad to be now, snug inthe housetruck with my girls, surrounded by mountains. By everything I need., finally able to breathe.
This is where I belong.
