No nonsense. Sensible shoes. Maybe a career as an accountant. Possibly Fox News. (Okay, let's not get hysterical, wink wink.). No obsession with neighbors who jump on a mattress set on their front lawn. That type of thing.
The thing is, I don't think that normal people voluntarily spend 3 1/2 hours at Wal*Mart on a Saturday evening. No husband. No kids. Just leisurely walking around, living the dream. I left at 8:30pm and rolled back in around midnight.
The truth is, I have a brain that longs to be creative, even in environments that don't inspire much creativity at all. I also have a need for quiet time to myself to indulge this thought process. There's so much noise during the week, and shutting down my highly sensitive brain is problematic. Therefore, as demented and sad as it may sound, I can even make a trip to Wal*Mart a creative experience.
Last night Craig, Brandon and I went out for the evening for a lovely dining experience at Chili's and then to World Market and Target. I think almost anyone could be inspired at World Market and most certainly Target.
But Wal*Mart? It's hard to put "Wal*Mart" and "Utopia" in the same sentence, but I'm going to try...tonight at Wal*Mart I:
- Planned a new color scheme for my home (mango orange, tan, and teal blue). Decided on pillows, paint samples, curtains, candle sticks, mirrors, art, etc. and at the end of the trip I purchased nothing. NOTHING. Just looking and thinking creatively was enough for me.
- Planned a new outdoor patio area, landscaping, etc. in my mind.
- Decided maybe I should have some Mango Orange nail polish.
- Planned an impromtu birthday party for the kids' Sunday school class tomorrow. Purchased mini cupcakes and a fruit tray.
- Thought about in my mind what I should have made from scratch. (I'm a recovering perfectionist).
- Emotionally validated at least two clerks. (I'm going to get that "social worker" stamp removed from my forehead.) I'm not a licensed therapist folks, I just see what I see. ;)
- Read greeting card after greeting card and tried to pick one for a friend. (Too stupid, too sappy, to blah). Finally found one. Designed my own line of greeting cards in my mind.
- Having a birthday party in a few weeks at The Museum of World Treasures. Planned the invitations in my mind and looked at all the supplies that I might need to make them. Probably won't make them, but it was super fun to think about it.
I totally get this. I try to avoid Walmart at all costs...but sometimes you just HAVE to do Walmart and there is no better place for supplies at 3AM when inspiration hits. And the store is quiet at those times. Actually Walmart - design wise has gotten so much better, they actually do have cut things now. I still love Target more but Target is not open at 1am. Target does not have plants and a house paint and groceries. So sometimes you just have to get your Walmart fix and if you do it late at night...it's quiet there.
ReplyDeleteLoved this post!
I worked at Walmart when I was putting myself through college (a concept I'm not sure a lot of kids today understand). So I have this love/hate relationship with the place. Mostly it is me loving to hate it.
ReplyDeleteI try, for the most part, to stay away, because I just HATE HATE HATE the politics of The Waltons and the Walmart board. The second reason I hate to go there is (to be honest) I simply do not want to walk the length of three football fields just to buy a bottle of soda (even if I can save 23 cents.
Alas, when my printer runs out of ink at 2 am there is only one place I cna go. So about five times a year, I find myself walking through the joint, mumbling and cussing along the way... trying not to make eye contact so that I (a social worker, also) will NOT be trapped!