I'm too old to show my face in teenage clothing stores

 I felt really old last night.

I took Andrew shopping for a new swimsuit (the need was dire) last night and he requested his favorite clothing store, American Eagle.

We ended up perusing the sales racks and I had Andrew try on a few shirts and pants in addition to a  much needed suit.

I felt a sensation I have never experienced before in a store...I DID NOT belong.  Nothing there appealed to my liking for myself and the clothes were not those for little children in which I have been purchasing for more than a decade.  I was in a teenager store and I was intruding on teenagery space.  Even the sales people (sales children) made me uncomfortable.  The generation gap between them and me could have been the Grand Canyon for how I felt. 

I don't have adolescent acne, sweaty armpits and greasy hair.  I won't wear off the shoulder 80's shirts that have sadly come back in style, I think $12 is an atrocious price for a pair of underwear, and I wish I could have punched out my eardrums because the music playing was absolutely awful. 

I'm old...and I felt creepy (lots of creepiness around here lately) hanging around why my son tried on clothing.  

I'm sure that had nothing to do with me holding the camera ready so I could get a shot of him before he protested after he came out of the dressing room.  ...because that isn't creepy at all.

However, no matter how out of place I was or felt, I was the one paying...so I had to be there invading my son's teenage world.  I'll take what I can get while he'll still tolerate my presence.  Having money to buy him clothing goes a long way.

I did learn something new about my oldest child.  He really likes to shop for clothes...but not in a women's (aka old lady) store.  He wouldn't even walk into stores that didn't have clothing for him.  He acted like they were infested with lice and leprosy, along with a large dose of cholera and plague. 

This snobbery coming from a boy who may or may not be picking his nose is a little high and mighty if you ask me.

All old lady feelings on the back burner...I'm grateful I don't want or have to shop in these stores anymore.  Any store that calls a pair of pants tiny enough to fit a barbie doll a size 4 is a store that doesn't need my money.  I prefer the stores that "alter" their sizes to make me feel better about myself!