"LAYAWAY"

Something on television the other night brought back a childhood memory of mine. Not a good one, mind you, but if you lived my childhood, there weren't a lot of good ones. With summer coming to an end, at every mall you see kids are scrambling to get their school supplies and of course, the most exciting thing on their list are their new wardrobes, affectionately referred to as "new school clothes". This was always one of my girls' favorite times when they were in school. If I'm being honest, it was one of mine too. I felt so blessed that I had the luxury of taking them school shopping for new stuff. They were like kids in a candy store, running around picking out different outfits, trying them on and imagining being the best dressed in their class! When we got home, they proudly carried in their bags of goodies, ran to their rooms and modeled their outfits for the family to enjoy. They were jumping up and down with excitement when they discovered the "one". That special, perfect outfit for the first day of school! Yes, I loved those days, that was until I got the bill! Reflecting on these times with my girls, I was reminded of my own childhood and how different it was when I was a kid.

I can remember begging my Mom weeks before school started, "when do we get to go school shopping?", "so and so already has all their stuff!", "i need this, i need that!","MOM, we have to go, everything's going to be gone!". It seemed in our family, it would be days before school started before we finally heard Mom say, "OK, fine, we're going tomorrow". "YES!"

But, before my mom put us in the car, she would go through our drawers and closets meticulously. She would pass down whatever she could to each of us kids and say, "No, that still fits, you can still wear those jeans". "Mom, are you kidding me? These are too short and too tight!" "They are fine! You can wear them for another year." Oh, how the kids teased. Highwaters, yeah, I think that's what they called it. Kids can be so mean.

Finally, after the hand-me-downs were passed out, we would pile in the car and be on our way. Our first and only stop? K-Mart. We'd get the cart and start shopping. I remember I couldn't believe how much stuff she was letting us get! The cart was packed! I can remember feeling so happy and excited and felt my self-esteem rising by the minute! When we were finished shopping, we didn't go to the check-out. Mom started walking towards the back of the store. "Where are we going, Mom?" I'll never forget the word that came out of her mouth next. Never. "We're going to layaway." "Layaway? What's layaway?" My mom was quick to answer. "It's where they hold the clothes for us, and then I'll come back and pick them up." I said, "But, we need our new school clothes! When are you going to pick them up?" She said, "Soon, you'll be fine. I'll get it out next month." She may have well said in forever, because a month was forever to me!

Every night, I dreamed about those clothes. I dreamed about how good I would look, how the other kids would look at me with envy at my new blue cordoroy jeans and new ruffled, white blouse. Each week that went by, I inquired about this thing called "layaway". And each week, I heard the same thing, "soon, Vicky, soon".

What is the statute of limitations on layaway anyway? Because each year that we practiced this phenomenon, I was never to see those clothes again.

I wonder if they're still waiting for me.