Half Price Tuesdays

Tuesdays. My “day off”. Alone time. Love it. My kids spend their mornings with two ladies I consider geniuses, not to mention saints and this particular morning I didn’t have much to do. Jeff was out of town so food was low on my priority list. The kids are easy and popcorn always sounds good to me. So Tuesday, the thought of visiting Half Price Books stirred a certain excitement within me, as it usually does. It has become a regular stop for me since I have been trying to improve our home library for the kids. Books are wonderful but books are also pricey. As my friends and I get these "must read" book lists, we have sites online we check and some peruse Half Price Books on a regular basis, like me. After telling my friend, Kathy, about a few things I found in the Hulen store, she decided to give it a try, but in true Kathy form, she went to a different Half Price Books so she wouldn’t “buy anything [I] wanted”.

Once I dropped off the kids, I began my mission: to find cheap books. Julia’s Samantha doll had made the trip to school that morning and she was securely buckled in the middle. (so much for being alone) Since Samantha’s big brown eyes seemed so attentive in the rear view mirror, I debated aloud about which store to visit, thinking of what Kathy did last week. The problem was that I had visited a Half Price Books while I was in Ohio last weekend and had found all sorts of treasures on my list. I was actually shocked at their selection and began to wonder if people in Ohio had something against reading. The even better part was that my Mom was with me and was just as enthusiastic about buying things for her grandchildren as I was about purchasing great children’s books. We made a perfect pair. This stop in Dayton clued me in on how different each store’s offering can be so I was itching to try another one in Fort Worth, so I caved to my curiosity and headed in a different direction. As I walked in and spotted the “Half Pint” section, my attention was drawn to a familiar green van parking in front. It was Kathy! Oh my gosh! I was caught. I honestly didn’t know what to do. I was on the phone with my Mom and quickly got off so I could think clearly—come up with some strategy. I thought about hiding. I thought about leaving. I thought maybe I can still shop but just steer clear of her. Crazy, I know. Then my phone rang and I REALLY wanted to answer it. So unfortunately, Kathy heard me before she saw me. I stammered through my excuses for being there and thankfully, she wasn’t territorial. We were civil and even gracious as we searched for our favorite authors and created no embarrassing scenes except maybe our balking at any book that was more than $5.00!

My point for writing this? Any of you with babies or soon to be parents, start this library now so you aren’t trying to do it in a matter of months and wind up spending the grocery budget on good books for your children. Food is just as important……..well, almost.

Kathy and I left happy and still had milk money. As it turns out, anything I bought, she already had and anything she bought, I had……………except for maybe those Billy and Blaze books. But I am not bitter. Really.