Among Friends

[Annabellethecat66]

@dex  I never look at what she puts in the bag before she gets it.  I usually make my speech “ We are going to limit this to around $100 OK”?  She always says “ OK Grandma”.  I can’t ever find prices at Ulta ( drives me crazy).

It was just the oldest 16 year old girl, as her sister doesn’t get home til later.  The “drill” is, we go our separate ways and I just wait for her.  I did buy the Benefit eyebrow stuff ((which I left in her bag).  

So I talked her out of buying a set of brushes (she loves brushes) because I give her brushes from my qvc makeup ‘habit’.  I even buy her brush cleaner.  She has beautiful skin and I try to impress the importance of clean makeup and brushes.

That girl can put on makeup like a pro, but lately she hasn’t been wearing any.  My daughter ( her mother) wears very little makeup ( she ‘ borrows’ her daughter’s).  

While waiting in line, I look in her bag and reiterate “only $100”.  She starts taking out things ( there are only a few things in the bag to start with) and I always say “Come on, let’s just get all of it”.  There couldn’t be much more than 10 to 12 things in the bag!

We get to the counter and the guy checking us out is a beautiful looking female.  I mean fingernails so long he could hardly pick up the items, white makeup on his face, huge false eyelashes.  This young boy has had plastic surgery already.  He looks about 18-20 years old.  

See, the thing is, I like people who some see as too different.  In my family we’ve always accepted people however THEY want to be.  I heard people snickering and whispering, drives me crazy.  However, if he was in my family, we’d have called him on the surgery so early in life.

Those few things were a few dollars short of....wait for it...$200!  That’s crazy, isn’t it?  I said “ Don’t tell your mom or she’ll kill me!”

After that we went to the bookstore where we waited for her sister ( almost 16).  They’re 15 months apart just like my other daughter’s younger girls.

It was fun having my granddaughter drive me around in my car.  My car is pretty new with buttons instead of regular gizmos.  Their cars are all older.  She quickly adapted to the bells and whistles.

At the bookstore the younger girl was in Heaven, as that’s her “ thing”.  I don’t even look at what they put in their bags there.  They usually buy 5 or 6 books each.  They are voracious readers, as is their mother.  

When my my girls were little they were encouraged to read.  My late husband teased me because the middle daughter preferred Archie comic books ( spent a fortune on those).  But at least she was reading.  Always before dinner, they’d go to their rooms and do homework and/or read.

The shoe store went a little quicker as they kinda knew what they wanted.  In hindsight, I’ll bet my daughter called them a few times to hurry them up because she knows I get tired and hate driving at night.  

They are are so kind and respectful.  Teenagers get a bad rap sometimes, but the ones I see out and about are courteous.  It’s often the adults ( especially males) who will almost knock me down to get through the door first.  In fact, on Thursday, that almost happened at the Drs as I was exiting the elevator!

When we get back to the house, I didn’t go in as it was getting late and I live about 40 to 45 minutes away.  

It was a fun day.  It always makes me feel good being around young people.  My mother used to say, “ If you want to feel young, hang out with young people.  Always watch and listen.  They’ll make you feel young and remind you how to enjoy life”.

As we all know “ Mother knows best”!  

[dex]

@Annabellethecat66 @lol...it sounds like a great adventure.I like people who are different too.There is a guy at home goods who is transitioning to a woman and I always hope that he will check out my items.He or she is very funnny and so chatty that I always leave with a smile.

I knew your ulta trip was going to be a surprising tally.I am not able to find prices there either and I guess they have it figured out.I mean after you spend all of that time shopping,selecting and waiting in line you are just ready to pay whatever and get out.I bet your granddaughter had the best time choosing her goodies and will be showing it all off to her friends.I am sure the friends wish they had such a fun grandmother to shop with.

i agree that it is fun to be around young people.We have friends in their early thirties who include us in many of their parties and get togethers.It is such a treat to listen to them talking about their plans for the future and see them accomplish their goals.At my age we have all been there done that and know the ending.I love to be around those who are excited and just getting started.

[drizzellla]

It put a smile on my face reading about your Granddaughters. Thanks for writing.

AND I would like to mention. I have bought nylon "traps" for my washer. It catches the hair and lint from the wash. I have to replace the traps about once a month. It catches that much. Maybe your daughter might look into that.

PS this is what I use on the hose from my washer -

[ECBG]

@Annabellethecat66 Hello Beautiful!  Sounds like an action packed time for sure!  I never had the drama with our boys, just my students and that was enough!!!

These hair drains are at Bed Bath and Beyond and on line.  You just pop them in the drain and no hair clogs!  Certainly saved our drain in my bath since my hair has almost always been long.!

[RedTop]

@Annabellethecat66,

Boy can I relate to that hair clog!   Both my daughters have below shoulder length hair; long hairs are always visible on our wood flooring, clogs the vacuum, and the bathtub drain.   We have never had to pay a plumber tho; my husband has access to the shower/tub drain in our basement, and cleans the drain monthly, or when the girls say “Dad, the water is draining slow in the tub!”

[ECBG]

@RedTop You need those hair drains too!

[Annabellethecat66]

@RedTop @ECBG  Well, the story of having teenage daughters isn't just about hair clogged drains.

I've told (I think) this story before.  @ECBG knows me personally, so she can attest that what I say is for real.  

So, when all three girls lived at home (still with the long hair) they'd put their foot up on the soap rack (built into the tile on the tub) to shave their legs. 

Eventually a small crack would form and the water would seep down behind the ceramic tile, under the tub and mess up the floor (thank goodness it wasn't a tile floor).

Two times my late husband had to remove the tile on the wall, remove the sub-floor (wood) and replace the linoleum.

The third time he finally got around to it (swear to you) the girls had moved out (2 married and 1 lived alone).  He died before he could finish fixing it.  

THAT is one of the things I will be having fixed this Spring.  One of the last arguments (well .... discussions) we had a few months before he died was he wanted to put in a tile floor (like he did in the hall bathroom) and I said, "No way".  You see, it is called a 'Jack and Jill' bathroom.  It's a middle bathroom between 2 bedrooms.  I figured whomever buys our house will put two children in each room and we all know how disinterested kids are about 'some' things.

Now that he's gone I've been thinking about getting it tiled because it will be a selling point.  Right now that bathroom belongs to my cats (cat boxes).  So, for now, I'm glad there's linoleum in it. 

Teenage girls are wonderful and amazing.  However, that hair and those finely shaved legs ...... well...they can present a problem! 

But they're worth every bit of trouble.  Hey ladies!  If you live long enough you can sit back and say, "Payback".  Heh! Heh!  Not in a mean way, but.....

[ECBG]

@Annabellethecat66 Many different ways of doing things (shaving legs) I guess!  My two sisters and I never had that problem.  Now the spray pointed toward those horrible glass sliding doors.......that's another story!

[qvc chick]

@Annabellethecat66 -  I will be in the northern va area in a few weeks, would love to meet up with you!

[San Antonio Gal]

@Annabellethecat66  - Reading your posts reminded me of when my daughter was little and all the shopping she and I did.  Every Saturday, we would go out to lunch and go shopping.  She's an only child and we treated her like a princess - spared no expense.  I miss those days.

If I was in your area, I'd surely want to have lunch with you!  You seem like such a kind person and fun to be around. 

Enjoyed reading your stories....