Shopping

I'm finally - finally! - writing from a Paris hotel, my window overlooking a charming street scene of busy little cafes, boutiques selling beautiful leather goods and Mad Men-esque vintage clothing, and apartments with lovingly cultivated and colourful window boxes.

A recent story at Time.com — "Do You Love Your Stuff Too Much? Maybe It's Because No One Loves You" by Meredith Melnick — explores the results of a new study that set out to determine whether we substitute material possessions for love, and whether people who have lots of love in their life actually value possessions less.

There has been plenty written in this blog about how money doesn’t secure happiness. Author Peter Walsh suggested asking ourselves “Is buying this getting me any closer to the life I want?” and encouraged us to choose experiences over items. Researcher Christopher Barrington-Leigh talked about how the more materialistic you are, possibly the less happy you are.

I recently noticed that the sizes in my closet run the full gamut, from extra small to large, in shirts, skirts, dresses and jackets. And I also noticed recently — while shopping for summer shoes and so, of course, also pausing to try on a wide variety of dresses — that it makes me happy when I fit into a four or six or some equally small size.

It's the last week of summer — as in the last week before school. It's a bittersweet week for many moms and dads: the last week for late-night mint chocolate-chip cone runs, for early evening soccer games, long days at the cottage and more.