thrift store stories

My roommate and I drove a few miles to the thrift store near our apartment. My car was packed full of bags and boxes full of stuff I wanted to get rid of. When we got there, neither of us were okay with only dropping stuff off. We had to go inside to look around.

We found two colorful flower couches that screamed bam when you saw them. Unfortunately, they were too big for us to buy. I found a book that is all about the moon with incredible pictures that I thought about buying. We also found a machine that is used to make a special kind of coffee that we didn't know the name of or purpose for. 

All of these items used to be owned by another person. Each has been part of someone's story. There is for sure a story about the two couches. That is what I love about going to thrift stores. I can make up a story of why someone owned loud, uncomfortable couches or a story about the person who served the coffee in the unidentifiable machine.

After awhile, we decided to look at clothing since it was $1 day.  

My roommate was looking at pants and I was a few aisles over. I heard an elderly woman say something to her. After another minute, I walked over to the aisle they were in. The woman was asking my roommate about a pair of white dress pants. After she answered her question, the conversation continued. I moved a few steps closer. We both started listening very intently to this woman because she started telling us her story.

Betty is 93 years old and volunteers at the thrift store every Thursday with a group of women. She's been doing it for 4 years to keep herself busy. She talked about the importance of working hard and staying busy. There is no point in being lazy. Betty talked about her job, family, and why she loved working at the thrift store. One last thing Betty told us was to always eat oatmeal with cinnamon (maybe that is how she looks so good for being 93). 

Hopefully, we will hear more of Betty's stories and advice when we go back on another Thursday to visit her. There is just something about being able to spend time with a person who is over four times my age.  

On this thrifting adventure, I realized that thrift stores are full of two types of stories. Stories you can make up about the items you find and stories of the people you will meet in the store.