Well, it's February, 2011.....I've broken Rule #3 (the one about not buying any item of clothing as a gift for anyone else). But I had a good excuse. I just got back from South Africa. Frekkin' South Africa!!! And I'll tell you what...I didn't buy one single item of new clothing to wear there. I spent two weeks wearing "old" summer clothes. I think I looked awesome. I lost a few pounds last year so I could fit in things most comfortably. I washed. AND ironed. This isn't turning out so badly after all. We stayed at a Holiday Inn for the last week, adjacent to a mall. I was....dare I say, bored with all the shops. I spent my money on every African beer I could find (we'll tackle that addiction in another blog).
So, that brings me to my most heinous crime, rule #3. Now, you must know that my mother is very proud of me, even with my tenuous bank relationship. She says, "don't be running off to Paris and London until you set your feet down home"! Never having left the continent, she is ever more proud that I did. So proud that every resident in her little old lady building was aware of my trip. I can imagine her conversations going something like this; "Hi Claudia", Oh. hi. What are you doing today? Oh nothing. Waiting for my daughter, the one who's going to South Africa, to call. Oh, okay bye." Or...."So, Claudia, where have you been? Oh, I've been out to my daughters house, the one who's going to South Africa."
As a result, I have received orders for "one of those beautiful dresses you are bringing Claudia from South Africa". Well, how do you refuse? So, I am back, loaded down with wine (South Africa has the most wonderful wineries), key chains, pictures and several of those beautiful dresses from South Africa. Shall I be penalized for that or shouldn't there be a special dispensation for once in a lifetime gifts for little old ladies?
I am standing in front of the Oprah Winfrey school in Henley, South Africa, just outside of Johannesburg. Here is where I proudly display an outfit that is at least three years old. The girls inside wear uniforms. That's it! Everyday, even when they visit home. They have nothing. Most of them come from the townships where poverty is an understatement. Who am I to worry about a new outfit? I'm getting a new outlook!
