“Ok Jill, pick two stores you want to go in.” She would notify me upon the arrival of the football-stadium-sized parking lots.
Although she dreaded the time in Woodfield, she loved when I had nice clothes to wear. To mom, Woodfield was like an army battlefield. Every 15 minutes, the mall filled up 50 more people than prior and my mom would get very impatient. We always did our shopping on Sunday before lunch time because it is thought to be the least crowded time of the week.
People went to church at 10 a.m.; Mom and I go to my store, Abercrombie, and her store, Victoria Secret. People get breakfast after church; We got lunch after shopping. I had been used to the fantasy of spending money on jeans, shirts, shoes, and anything else I desired. Smelling scents of the seasons latest fragrances and listening to the newest mixes was the perfect setting in searching for the cutest outfit. Mom would toss over things she hoped seeing me in while I tried on my selection of clothes in the dressing room.
“Jill look what I found, this pretty shirt that would look adorable on you, I want to see it on you.” Mom declared.
I would come out of the small dressing room to model what she had picked. Mom was so generous to me in letting me have all these clothes. Abercrombie was my eleven-year-old candy store, my sweet indulgence. Over the next two years, she and I would have our sunday shopping session and lunch. Being together so much brought us closer. She loved picking out clothes for me as if i were her little dolly.


As seventh grade hit, so did the recession. No more spending money. This reality had not seeped in my mind. I did not understand. I asked my parents if the economy was better every week, they continued with "No Jill not yet." My parents were stressed and I was worried for them along with our futures. My mom works as an ice skating instructor and her students were spending less time at the rink, which meant moms' money making was at an all time low. Private lessons at an ice rink are not cheap. We were not the only family with money problems, the epidemic hit everyone. The economy was not granting people their normal income and people became scared at that. Jobs were lost and people left with foreclosures. This recession was hard time and still is. The economy leaves us all in a struggle. Friends with jobless parents made me grieve, the people I love could not have what I had. I was always the one with money ready to spend at the mall, while my friends tagged along.
Now that we have grown up, we do not have to rely on our parents for money. Teenagers make money by working jobs. But once someone applies time after time, with no reply, they give up. Not having a job is tough. Having friends who really need the money, which had been denied the possibility, is awful. As 12th grade approached, "not yet," I inform myself-the recession tagged along, once again.