A Confession? or This is not an endorsement of WalMart

Everyone who knows me well, knows I do not shop at Wal-Mart. Up until a few weeks ago, I hadn't spent any money at a Walmart in at least five years. I actively avoid Wal-Mart because I believe it is better to support the little local stores. I don't like big-box stores on principle, and was especially upset with WalMart when they built a second store in our not-so-large valley. So what broke my record of not stepping into a WalMart? I'll tell you. We were between a rock and a hard place or that is in great need--the ox was in the mire. We were visiting our son's family in Avon, Colorado--yes if you've noticed the irony here--we live in Avon, Utah. We're hoping our daughter can find a town to live in named Avon as well so that we call all be connected in a strange sort of way.

Anyway back to my tale, we wanted to go swimming with our grandkids at this really cool recreation center. We hadn't known ahead that we needed to bring a suit. There are exactly two stores that sell swim suits in Avon, one is Sport's Authority, right beneath our son's condo, and the other is Wal-Mart. My husband is more avidly against shopping at WalMart than I am, so we headed down to see what we could find. Being the time of year it was we found a couple of racks of suits that were all on sale. Great, we set out picking out suits to try on. I found a handful of suits that I thought might fit me. I squeezed into the first one and couldn't get it on. I tried the next, and the next, and the next. Every single suit made me well aware of the pounds I have put on in the last few years. Fat seemed to ooze out of the suit and hid nothing! I immediately vowed to begin the elusive diet once again. The suits were made for people who actually swam. The suits were made for athletic people and not just grandmas who wanted to bounce around with their grandkids. Mick found a suit easily. I mean how hard is it to find a pair of baggy shorts to wear? But after our children called and asked what was taking us so long, I admitted that we were going to have to go look at WalMart. I found the racks and racks of suits made for women like me and women much much bigger than I am. These suits were made for women who wanted to keep the fat hidden from view. I chose a couple to try on and suddenly felt slim again. Instantly was gone the desire to starve myself back into thin again. I looked pretty darn good after all. I quickly chose two suits for less than the price of one at the other store and threw in a pair of swim shorts I could wear and headed to the check-out. Yes, I did feel a bit guilty. I was now an official hypocrite. But it was so worth it. We had so much fun kicking in the pool with our two grandkids and our son and his wife. We got to see what a wonderful little family our son has. Sometimes compromising values is worth it. Right?