You Get What You Pay For . . .
I'm a bargain shopper. It is my goal to hunt for the absolute best price available before I will spend any money. In fact, I've been known to go shopping, try on a plethora of items only to put them all back because I'm sure I can find better prices elsewhere. For example, I have never paid more than $10 for a pair of jeans – ever. But when I would try to save a few cents by buying the store brand of tomato soup instead of Campbell's, Drew would say, "Jenn, you only get what you pay for."
That old adage came back to bite me in the rear today. Last month we left the heat of Africa, where we had been serving for three months, and flew to Romania where we got off the plane in a snow storm. In less than 24 hours we experienced a 100 degree change in temperature. Prepared with only shorts and t-shirts we immediately scouted out some thrift stores and stocked up on cold weather apparel. I was able to find everything I needed except boots and there was no way I could last a month in three feet of snow with only flip flops to protect my feet. As there were no sales to be found, I was forced to pay full retail price for a pair of boots that I certainly didn't need (because I have more pairs at home than I am willing to admit) but couldn't survive without.
I paid the 80 Lei ($27 USD), slid my frozen toes into the fleece lined boots and continued merrily on my way. I wore those boots every day for over a month. They took me uphill and down, through snow, and slush, and mud. They kept me dry in the rain and warm in the cold. And I happily put them on again this morning as I prepared to rake leaves all day on the muddy grounds of a local orphanage.
As I walked across the lawn I felt a strange sensation under my foot. I looked down and didn't see anything. But as I continued walking I felt a bit of cool air nipping at my heel. When I stopped to take a closer look I noticed I had walked right out of my boot. I now had flip flop boots – they're all the rage in Bulgaria. I'm sure they'll make their way to America in no time at all . . . UGH . . . My first thought was, "Well, I guess you get what you pay for." But then I realized, $27 might not be a lot of money, but it's more than I normally spend on a pair of shoes, and I keep my shoes for years. I still have and wear a pair that I got in the 5th grade. Now, that's what I call getting more than you bargained for!
As I flip flopped around the yard with my rake I was thinking about all the different things I had done in these boots over the course of a month – Hike up and down the mountain multiple times, walk to see newborn goats, cross the street to Sophia's house on many occasions, walk to the village store, shovel snow, chip ice, chop wood, visit a Romanian church, meet gypsy kids in the street, mop floors, beat carpets, jump off of balconies into the snow, try sledding in a rubbermaid tote, making snow angels, walking across the Elisabeth bridge, see everything there is to see in Budapest, and so much more. It didn't take me long to realize that even though I didn't have them for a very long period of time – about 45 days -They had seen more and been used more than most of my other shoes. I like variety, so even though I may have had them for years, I don't wear the same shoes on a daily basis. So I guess I "got what I paid for" in that these aren't well made, hand crafted, leather boots that are supposed to last a lifetime, and they weren't really all that expensive. But I also "got more than I bargained for" because these bootshave seen and done more than most people I know, and the experience only cost $27.
