Dear readers,
We are very excited to feature a guest post today from Wendy of the Simple Thrift blog in New Hampshire. She writes about a great example of when thrift stores can come to the rescue!
Blue Blazers & Bill Clinton
The call came in on Tuesday. Would we be able to have our two oldest sons down in Boston on Thursday to help out with an event where Former President Bill Clinton was scheduled to speak?
Are you kidding? My boys were going to meet a man who had once been the President of the United States? You bet, they’ll be there. I’ll make absolutely sure they’re there.
“Oh and could you have them both wear navy blue blazers?,” the woman on the phone asked me.
Now that was a little bit of a problem, we had the khaki pants, white button down shirts, we even had blue and red striped ties but we did not have navy blue blazers. If the truth be told we didn’t have blazers of any color for our boys. There had just never been a need for one (and when you have 6 kids you know that you don’t buy anything unless you absolutely need it.)
But this was an opportunity to see history, I had to find my kids those blazers.
I went to several stores – no blazers. Couldn’t order anything online because there wasn’t enough time. I kept looking in different stores, I tried everywhere I could think. Against my number one clothes buying rule, I would have paid full price if I had found one, but there was not a single one to be found, anywhere.
The morning of the event, we still hadn’t located any blue blazers. I was starting to panic. At that point I was desperate and then I remembered a place we hadn’t yet tried.
Maybe Goodwill will have some, I told my husband. You go to Goodwill and I’ll try one last store.
My phone rang while I was in the men’s department, looking at suit coats and wondering if anyone would notice if my boy’s coats were black instead of blue. It was going to be in the evening, surely the lights would be lowered, right?
They have blazers here, my husband told me. He ended up getting two blazers in the right sizes for 7 dollars apiece. When he got home, we threw them on the boys and headed down to Boston.
The boys were thrilled to meet Bill Clinton and they looked just as dashing as all the other helpers in their “uniforms.” I smiled, knowing that the Former President of the United States was shaking hands with two kids who were wearing second hand blazers.
Since that event, whenever my kids might balk at wearing used clothing, I just remind them – if it’s good enough for the President of the United States, it’s good enough for you.
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Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.
Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens). Visit Wendy’s blog, Simple Thrift.
Photo credit: Marc Nozell
Blue blazers and Bill Clinton http://t.co/bQVLOb6 #clinton #goodwill #kids