How coat shopping is like livestock judging.

My Mom surprised me with a visit today.  She wanted to go to lunch and the mall.  Jaelin and I gladly tagged along.  She wanted to buy a new coat and so Jaelin and I headed to the mall for her to try on some new coats.  When we go to the coat department there were two older women there.  One woman was trying coats on and the other (obviously a friend) was trying to help her decide.  I believe they had been there for a while. 

It reminded me of a story Dr. Turner use to tell us in the van on judging trips about why women have to shop with someone else.  They can’t make a clear decision about clothing without someone giving their opinion.  He said that way if they really didn’t like the (prom dress, coat, shoes, etc) they could blame it on them.  Well I really wasn’t going to buy this but “she” talked me into it.  I use to share the same thing with my high school judging team members.  I believe there is a lot of truth in it.  I also thought it made for a good foundation of why they should place the class the way they thought and not ever look at someone else’s card, because you really don’t know if they are right and it will just confuse you.  If you are wrong at least you know why you placed them that way and can learn from that and move on. 

Back to the ladies shopping for coats. I found a chair, mom was trying on coats and Jaelin was joyfully dancing in a wide space in the coats, singing pieces and parts of church hymns. I have really started to enjoy her singing these hymns.  They usually go something like this “God is with my spirit and peace and Jesus and love God”.  That is just one song.  They are so enjoyable. 

This woman was still trying on coats and she kept trying on the same two coats (probably at least 10 times) while I was sitting there. The friend was not helping her decide on these two coats. The rest of this may sound a little bit like livestock judging. By this time I had already formed a strong opinion on which one this lady I had never met before should buy.  There were two beige coats (there wasn’t a nickels difference between the two shades of beige).  She kept telling her friend “I just can’t decide on which color”.  The one coat had a lovely cut that fit her perfect the other was too long and tied in the middle making it awkward, hitting her at the wrong spot.  It also was a little bulky at the shoulders.

Mom was still trying on coats.  Her move was basically trying on all of them and then buying the one she liked.  Very easy and asked for no opinions and even when Jaelin tried to talk her into the pink one, she said “I know Jaelin but Grammy really doesn’t like how it fits”.  Mom finally settled on the green one and I really liked it, even though she didn’t ask.  Jaelin felt inclined to tell her green was a boys color.  She bought the coat anyway.  While this is going on the lady trying on coats kept looking at me – or maybe Jaelin singing.  Anyway I decided to help these two ladies enjoy the rest of the afternoon and told her she should buy the one that was the good fit.  She said I agree and took it and left to pay for it.  J You win Dr. Turner, women do sometimes shop with someone else just to get verification on what to buy. However, it is best to take someone with a strong opinion – if that is what you need.