I hate to be a hypocrite as I rarely do any exercises myself, if at all, but as a daughter, I feel like it’s my moral obligation to get my mom to do some form of physical activity that doesn’t involve doing the dishes or ironing clothes.

I can take her for a stroll around the neighbourhood in the late afternoons after I get home from work but I’d be shooting myself in the foot so I do the next best thing:

I take her op shopping.

Which must be a genetically inherited favourite pastime because as soon as I ask her if she’s down for it, her face brightens into a smile and she suddenly remembers her need to buy a pair of pants.

Savers was where we were on my two days off last week. She likes it there as it’s bigger than my usual op shop. For someone who’s not much of a fan of the place as I feel like its operation is more business than charity, I don’t mind taking her there. I mean, we’re still saving the environment somehow so I guess there’s that.

Day 1 was where I stacked up on books. Having stopped going there for a while as a personal boycott, I forgot how much wider their book selection was. I found several books to add to my burgeoning collection I’m starting to wonder if I will ever read them all at a leisurely pace or if I will be cramming on my deathbed.

I bought a Gorman pleated skirt, as well.

And a Perry Como 20 Golden Hits Vinyl LP record which Jeff later played on his turntable, the analog music filling our ears with songs like And I Love You So and our hearts with memories of my dad who loved Perry Como.

“Look, Jan, this is nice,” my mom said, showing me a printed dress she thought I might like. It was cute, I’ll give it that. But as soon as I saw the label, I was like, no. I don’t intend on supporting Shein in any way, shape, and form. I’m sorry. I don’t have a lot of principles but this is one of those I feel strongly about for ethical and environmental reasons. Fair enough, there’s a lot of other brands out there that I like and buy who are probably just as guilty but for some reason, I’m zeroing in on Shein.

How do you even pronounce it?

Two days later, I bought some board games — Monopoly, Scrabble, Pictureka!, and — this was a delightful surprise — Sacred Contracts: The Journey. I didn’t even know what it was until I saw it but the whole discover-your-archetype kind of theme lured me into putting it in my mom’s trolley.

I skimmed through the guidebook and it looks like I’m a Dilettante — a lover of the fine arts who never rises above the level of an amateur.

Where’s the lie, bruh?

Oh, yeah, I got some christmas ornaments too because why not? They’re cute and they’re made of painted sheet metal. Sturdy enough to leave as heirlooms to my granddaughter’s granddaughter’s great-granddaughters.

Like the flowery blouse I wore on this day. It was my mom’s when she was 18.

The blouse is fifty bloody two years old!

And it fits me like a glove. A bit of a tight glove but so long as the buttons are not popping, it’s all good.