MrPages recently had a birthday. We haven’t been much on celebrating such things, but this year I budgeted money for some special gifts and then asked MrPages what he most wanted.

“Clothes,” he replied.

“Really?” I answered. He’s never been one to worry much about his clothes.

“Yep.” was his illuminating reply.

So one afternoon the children and I headed out, intending to go to Sears, expecting to get him a shirt or two, or maybe a new pair of pants. On the way, we ended up at Value Village. This was not an unusual thing. I usually shop at the Good Will at the top of the street. It’s cheap, often has some really good quality things, and supports people trying to make a better life. (It also has a little bit of an ethnic flair. Page1 purchased a beautiful salwar kameez!) Value Village, on the other hand is more expensive, by comparison, but has a much large selection and therefore more variety. I most wish we had a MCC Thrift store nearby, but alas, the nearest one is a fair drive away.

So we ended up at Value Village and found a bunch of stuff we all thought MrPages would like, but I stood in the aisle looking at the clothes wondering about the appropriateness of buying second hand clothes for his birthday. I wouldn’t even consider doing such a thing for anyone in my extended family. They would be bewildered by the idea. Second hand clothing is what you buy when you can’t afford to buy something new. It is an admission of poverty.

And yet the frugal Scot in me cannot justify paying so much money for new clothes. If the clothes were in good condition, and would suit him, what did it matter where I got them from? Especially since the used ones were much better quality name-brand items than we could have afforded had they been new. We ended up buying two pair of pants and four shirts for the budgeted amount.

MrPages was overwhelmed by his gift. He teared up as child after child presented him with a gift.

What did it matter where the gift came from? Ultimately it came from the heart, and that’s the most important thing.

And to lighten the mood, and hopefully make you smile, we now present a music video by an MCC Thrift Store. You’ll be singing it all week!

Advisory: YouTube is not a particularly safe place for children or adults. If you click through to the site, do so with caution. If you surf with Firefox, considering installing the BetterYouTube extension which clears away all the comments and other often inappropriate links on the YouTube page. Also please consider protecting your little ones and yourself with K9 Web Protection. It’s free and it works.

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