Time travel

Had I known time travel was so simple I might have tried it long ago.  

Today the kids and I wandered downtown to pick up some Thank You cards.  I was going to have EB pick some up at the big box store, but then I thought, "Hey, let's walk downtown and go to office supply store."  You know support the local establishments.  I mean we have lived here 12 years and I have never stepped foot into the office supply store, but this $5 purchase could help keep them in business .

Anyway, stepping into the office supply store, that is what they call it, was liking going back to 1983 and the Ben Franklin store on main street.  It is a small store with office supplies, craft supplies (quite a nice selection of yarn), shoe laces, for sale signs (definitely need those here), jewelry and my favorite, Rotex label maker labels.   I didn't see any label makers, but if you happened to have one at home, you could email me and I would go purchase you label tape in a wide variety of colors.  Or you could go to eBay and click on this auction and pick yourself up a lime green and robin's egg blue one.  There is even a faux wood label tape included.  

The whole store was filled with old crap vintage items like that.  Of course if you wanted to know the true color of anything you would have to scrape off the layers of dust.  

I don't know how they stay in business.  There didn't seem to be many things there that hadn't been there for 10 years.  I know that I am part of the problem that small town businesses face, but they do have to help themselves as well.  First, you need to be open more than M-F, 9-5. Let's face it, most of the world today has to work and they aren't working in this town.  Donate your old inventory to the schools, take a tax write off  and then update what you carry.  I am sure there are many more things you could do, but I guess what they are doing is working for them.

It isn't my style

Last night we went to another farewell meal with friends.  S is a dear friend.  We have different parenting styles.  Very different.  

I am completely over protective, I have rules and standards. I make them eat fruits and vegetables, go to bed at a decent time and I don't let them play with knives.   I know that, my friends know that and that is just the way it is.  I like to have fun and we do, really. Just yesterday I took them to McDonald's and a movie where we had pop and popcorn.   They have also had hotdogs for 7 out of their last 10 meals.  I really can't think about that too much or we will have to go on a detoxification plan.  

S is a free spirited, anything goes, kind of mother.  The kind of parent any child would probably love.  I could never survive in her world, but it works for her.  Unless of course I had massive doses of prozac.  I had to leave after a couple of hours there, I was getting jittery. 

Funny thing everyone survived.