If you have been following this series of articles, I hope you’ve enjoyed our previous stories (see links below). These stories are all about the shopping adventures that my family and I have had while out sourcing vintage treasures for our shop.
Join us on yet another vintage treasure hunting adventure in Part 12 of this series of articles…
The Tattered Hoodie Estate Sale
I still feel so bad about this particular estate sale!
My youngest son and I were out running errands. It was early in the day and while it was Summer, the morning was rather brisk. My son grabbed his favorite hooded sweatshirt on the way out the door and we were off. We were only planning on stopping by a friends house and going through the drive-thru bank teller, so I have to say, I wasn’t too concerned that we were “dressed appropriately”. We were comfortable, and that was all that mattered to me.
After running our errands, we spotted an Estate Sale sign and decided to take our chance, following the signs to see where we would end up.
We live in the country, so when you spot a sign like this, you just know you will be on the road for awhile before you finally end up at the sale.
We finally arrived at the destination and saw that we needed to park on the country road and then walk up a long driveway to the farmstead. When we got out of the truck, I noticed there was a large tear on the sleeve of my sons hooded sweatshirt. I hadn’t noticed that when he put the sweatshirt on earlier in the day, and you know kids – they don’t always point these things out. It was a sunny Summer morning, so I told my son he should probably leave the sweatshirt in the truck (I would repair the tear later) – and at the hour we arrived, we would be in and out quickly, so while it was sort of a cool morning, I thought he would be okay. So he took it off and left it in the truck.
Boy was I wrong!
We arrived at the estate sale around 10:00am, and by estate sale standards, that is late! When we walked down the long curving driveway, we saw there was a line of people waiting to get into the sale. We figured the line would move pretty quickly, so we waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Meanwhile, the line behind us was getting longer and longer. There were SO many people, that only a few could be let inside at a time. While we were standing in line, I asked my son if he wanted to wait. He said “sure” – he’s an awesome kid! During the time that we waited, I kept asking my son if he wanted to continue standing in line, and he assured me that he was doing okay. So we continued to wait.
My son was wearing a t-shirt and I asked him if he was warm enough. “Yes, Mom, I’m fine”.
I asked him if he wanted me to put my sweater around him. “No, Mom, I’m fine”.
I asked him if he was SURE he was warm enough – and that we could run back to the truck to get his tattered hoodie if he wanted. “No, Mom, let’s stay in line.”
So we did. And we eventually got inside… after 2 hours.
We enjoyed our conversation while we stood in line, and we found some awesome vintage items for our shop. I love spending time with him, no matter what it is we are doing together, so I thought we had a really good morning.
When we got back to the truck, he quickly put on his sweatshirt and THEN told me he had been freezing! He nearly broke my heart! WHY didn’t he tell me this 2 hours before?!?!?! I would have left immediately had I known.
To this day, he reminds me of the time I told him NOT to wear that tattered sweatshirt. If I could go back in time, I would have let him wear it, and I wouldn’t have cared what it looked like.
The Lesson? Always dress appropriately – because you never know where you might stop while out running errands. And when your kid tells you he is “fine”, trust your instincts and wrap that sweater around him, despite what he says.
There you have it! Another shopping adventure with my family.
Check back for more stories coming up in this series of articles, or click these links for the previous stories –
Part 1: The Collector
Part 2: The Dead-End Road
Part 3: The Collapsing Barn
Part 4: The Cat Lady House
Part 5: The Garage Sale
Part 6: The Root Cellar
Part 7: The Parade of Chairs
Part 8: The Followers
Part 9: The Cabinet Card
Part 10: The Over-Crowded Estate Sale
Part 11: The Flea Market – That Wasn’t
Do you have a favorite vintage shopping adventure story? We’d love to hear it! Share the details in a comment below.
I never run into anyone I know when I go to Walmart UNLESS I don’t wear make-up AND I have on the old clothes that I’ve been working around the house in. You know, the ones you don’t want anyone else to know you wear. The ones you would wear ONLY if you are going to dart in and out somewhere and NEVER see anyone that you know.
Great story, JD. I need to go back and read the other adventures you have had Treasure Hunting!
Oh My, I can completely relate. Being a Mom is not easy. I enjoy reading your adventures, your Sons sound awesome!
Another nice and fun article. Love this : “WHY didn’t he tell me this 2 hours before?!?!?! I” , ‘can’t stop laughing out loud!
Oh JD:) you are … very Instinctive, sure you are in many situations! aren’t you? 😉
Hope All vesties team mates enjoyed a Great Summer!
last, lookin’ forward to hear from you asap. …