Personal Day

I decided to take one of my two personal days on Monday. I had plans of accomplishing a list of errands that I haven't had a block of time to get done. I awoke early and headed out the door by 9 a.m. Made a stop at Micheal's Craft Store then went to the mall just as it opened at 10 a.m. My first stop was "Forever 21". I am well aware that I am not even close to 21 but I had seen some inexpensive jewelry that I thought would look good with the dress I am wearing to my niece's wedding this weekend. I would estimate there were six sales people working in there, all I am sure, believing they will be Forever 21. As I strolled around looking first at their sweaters in the hope of finding a shrug for my dress then wandering to the jewelry, I was gawked and glared at by these perky, fresh, 21ish faces. The looks they were giving me where basically saying "You are WAY too old to be in this store and the Middle-Age store is down at the end of the mall." I actually felt self-conscious. I selected a cute bracelet then proceeded up to the counter to pay for my jewelry because obviously they would never have anything my size or style, and the girl at the counter looked at me like, "What?!" I sheepishly slid the bracelet closer to her on the counter and made my purchase and was never so glad to leave a place. The sad part is that as I was checking out I saw some tights that would look perfect with my dress but I dare not ever return to this store. I will have Lauren go in and make the pick-up for me, they will never know, right?
My next stop was J.C. Penny's to find dress slacks for Garret to wear to the wedding. I made a sweep of the store again looking for a shrug for my dress and found a sale on a bra and picked one up. This was an unexpected purchase, but believe me when I say, things there are not at all like when I was 21. So I wandered to the jewelry and found the perfect earrings to go with the bracelet I had just bought, score! My next stop was the men's department for Garret. I surveyed all their slacks and found a few that would work. I had a question about the size so I thought I would text him, that's when I realized, GULP!, I did not have my purse on my arm, you know my COACH purse with all my world inside, keys, wallet, phone. MY COACH PURSE!!!!!! So I calmly, and unsuspectingly retraced my steps to no avail. I stopped at every sales desk to ask if someone had turned in a COACH purse, and basically got a look like, "No, and how the heck to you leave your COACH purse just laying around in a store?" I checked with the catalog department as I was told to and they called onto the floor to have sales people "make a sweep" or as I translate, help the not-so-21-year-old find her purse. I kept racking my brain trying to figure out how I had done something so stupid. It ended up being at the sales desk right next to the jewelry counter, the last place I asked, of course. I have never been so thankful for something in my life! We are talking about my COACH purse! I am really not about diamonds or gems, for me, it's all about the shoes and purse.
I made my purchases then tried to grasp any shred of dignity that I had and left the store.
That was the most exhausting, humiliating personal day ever. I went home after that mostly because I was afraid I might not remember how to get there.