I’ll show my age in this blog, but you already know I’m retired, so I’m obviously old.

As a child growing up in Wisconsin, my mom would dress my sister and me in our Sunday best to go shopping in Milwaukee. Mom didn’t drive, so we took the city bus from the suburbs where we lived to go downtown to shop at the big department stores on Wisconsin Avenue and the historic Mitchell Street: Gimbel’s, Boston Store, and Schuster’s. The store windows were lavishly decorated for each season, and we’d peek in all the windows at the grand displays. Mom’s favorite store was Goldmann’s. We had lunch at the famous lunch counter and stopped at the candy case for dessert. We shopped for clothes, shoes, and housewares. I remember the squeaky wooden stairs up to the mezzanine and down to the bargain basement, where we hunted for the perfect fabric for our home-sewn Easter dresses. Mom was a fabulous seamstress and made 99% of our clothes. It was a rare treat to get a store-bought dress.

In today’s times, I go shopping in the most comfortable clothes I own—jeans, a sweatshirt, and tennis shoes. I wouldn’t think of dressing up to go to the mall on a Saturday afternoon. And the department stores aren’t downtown anymore except in huge cities like New York and Chicago.

I don’t sew my own clothes. I’m lucky if I get something mended on a sewing machine rather than taking it to the cleaners to be fixed. I just heard the news that Joann Fabrics is closing over half of their stores nationwide. Where can you buy fabric anymore? I know Hobby Lobby carries piece goods, a few Walmart stores, and independent quilting shops.

The shopping world is so different now. Many of my favorite haunts have closed their doors. Do you remember Kmart, Payless Shoes, Linens ’n Things, Radio Shack, Toys “R” Us, Gordmans, Peebles, and Tuesday Morning? Now Big Lots is having Going-Out-of-Business sales.

I read the news on my computer every morning and am saddened that so many stores are closing. Over the years, I got used to buying certain items at particular stores. Now I do most of my shopping online, where some of the defunct stores have websites, but it’s not the same. When I shop on the web, I have to know what I’m looking for.

If I want to buy a gift for a friend, I like to shop in a brick-and-mortar store and stroll the aisles, touch the goods, and bask in the scent of candles and soaps. Walter can’t believe I can spend hours in one store just looking. He likes to go in, buy what he came for, and get out. Sometimes he will patiently wait for me if a comfy chair is available, but I prefer to go alone when I want to saunter and browse. Am I the only person that feels that way? I still shop at Belk, JC Penney’s, or Macy’s for now, but they are closing stores too.

I enjoy shopping at antique malls and thrift stores. When I lived in Oklahoma City, my dear friend Sarah knew the best resale shops to go to depending on what you wanted. One store had a wide variety of clothing, one store had great junk, and one store had a large selection of dinnerware. Once while shopping with Sarah, I spotted some dishes I wanted—a set of six large and small plates and four bowls. I sure wanted those dishes, but they would be on sale for half the price the next week. I left them on the shelf.

On Monday morning, Sarah called me. “Your dishes are here, and they’re half price. Come meet me at the store.” I ran right over, and we loaded the dishes into my shopping cart. On top of that, I was able to find two bowls to match the set at two other thrift shops. I think of Sarah when I pull out those dishes to set the table.

Another day, I was searching for a blue vase to fit on my kitchen windowsill. I found a six-inch vase in the perfect color, but I was disappointed that it had some gold writing on one side of it. I bought it anyway, thinking I could turn it around so the worn writing wouldn’t show. Closer examination revealed the vase to be a souvenir from Virginia, with a tiny map of the state surrounded by dogwood flowers. I had no idea at the time that Virginia would mean much more to me in the near future.