I know that I’m entirely responsible for my current problem. Well…maybe not entirely responsible….anyone with a mother knows, one is  never  entirely responsible for a problem of one’s own making. Our mother must be somewhat to blame – in fact, I believe the very title of MOTHER, loosely translated, means, “one who must be blamed.”  Anyway, I digress, as I attempt to deflect…

This is the text I received today from the University of Arkansas. (Not from the university per se, but from one of their students)

I admit that me and my daughters (and my mother, as well as her mother and her grandmother before her) are what we refer to down South as a “clothes horse” or I guess “clothes horses” in the plural form…we adore the purchasing and the wearing of the latest styles and fashions. Case in point- my mom is 75 and just sent me a “selfie” of the outfit she wore to dinner last night.

This family tradition has never been a huge problem. We’ve married indulgent men.  Sure, there’s been the occasional marital squabble and the minor fibs (“What? This old thing?  I’ve had this for awhile now”…etc etc). It’s never been anything we couldn’t finesse.

In fact, I’ve always found it somewhat amusing. Once, I met a friend’s little neighbor child who had just gone to her first day of kindergarten. I interrupted her prattling on about her teacher and her new classmates by saying, “more importantly- what did you wear?” I found out later from my friend that the child’s mother didn’t find this as amusing as I did…

That mother would probably be happy to know that I am reaping what I’ve sown…

The challenge for Today’s Thrifty Mom On A Budget is social media. Back in the good old days, (before Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat)  a Savvy Girl could rotate her wardrobe. For instance, an outfit she wore around “school friends” became an entirely new ensemble when worn around “church friends.”  Well, those days are gone apparently. The clothes I purchased in the spring for Gracie to wear to her Oklahoma High School graduation festivities, and naively assumed she could wear in Arkansas for freshman social events, are “over exposed.” Because they have been seen by thousands frolicking all over Facebook and Instagram, they can’t be repurposed in Arkansas.

Too bad I never saw this coming. There seems to be only two solutions:

-take your Mother’s clothes (they’re “like new,” as no one in the Social Media Set looks at anyone’s mom.)

-buy all new clothes – so you have something new every day

This post is a warning to younger moms with daughters: what is adorable at 3 and tolerable at 12, is quite expensive at 19.  Laugh now – pay later!!