It's a curiosity to be sure. Every time I enter a Chico, I see lots of women excitedly pulling clothes off the rack. I think to myself ~~ well, maybe I have a shot of liking something here now. They're obviously going at it. I begin at the front and see a layered t-shirt which I just bypassed at Dress Barn for $12.00. Chico's wants $34.00. Then, I pull out a shirt which has a layer of buttons, then ribbons, then crepe of some sort, in a lavender fuschia orange coloration blend. And, they want $98 for this? I look back at the women, chattering happily to their girlfriends who they've brought. Perhaps they're excited about the clearance racks there. Yet clearance prices are still in the $50 range, and the whole blotch of colors and various materials make me swoon insipid once more. In Chico's, I am insipid. I head for the door defeated once more by the bright women who are actually purchasing. I need to be home in my garden, dirty and happy ... and bright in the natural sunlight. I should have known better!

As I'm waiting for my husband today, I feel the weight of the dismal shopper. Materialism heavily ensnares. We women continually wish to look good. It always interests me to look at the empty, searching faces that are in the same aisles as me. Mine is no exception.

Dear Lord, allow life's purposes to be more substantial than the rack, the bag, the meaningless unnecessary item. I need detanglement as well.