June 27, 2023 is National Sunglass Day. I’m not sure that anything serious can be written about something is silly as National Sunglass Day… but here goes. From my blog on December 22, 2021, Minding The Gap.
“A lot has been written about buyer’s remorse-because it happens a lot. Pandemic purchases have only made the problem worse. Fill in the blank. I hate my… Peleton, fire pit, air fryer, designer handbag… why did I buy it? Stores and online sites spend heavily to entice us to buy things we don’t need and maybe don’t even want. We shop when we’re bored, sad, happy, flush, broke. Any excuse or no excuse- shopping is what we do. An internet connection and a credit card are adult pacifiers.
So how do we avoid our next shopping mistake? The simplest way is simply to wait. Putting a bit of space between the impulse to purchase and actually doing so can save us a lot of regret. Waiting will clearly distinguish needs from wants. Some things really can’t wait without unfortunate consequences. But everything else (probably the lion’s share), can.
It might be too late to avoid regrets about holiday purchases and pandemic indulgences, but it’s not too late to mend your ways. Mind the gap. Wait. Not every itch needs to be scratched. I’m taking my own advice. In The Holiday Gift Guide, replete with time-saving, expert-vetted gifts, a pair of snappy sunglasses caught my eye. I have a pair of sunglasses that work just fine, but I like the looks of these keyhole shades better. This itch goes squarely in the “wants” column. I’ve marked my calendar for June 27, 2023 which is National Sunglass Day. My bet is that I’ll be relieved, not remorseful to have waited.”
Back to the present. I minded the gap. I fully appreciated that I did not need these shades, no matter how snappy. But I still wanted them. This was a pretty persistent itch. I was probably going to scratch it. And now to another present. As in a gift. Someone who knows me well and had read Minding the Gap surprised me with a pair of snappy keyhole shades. They are better than others many times their price. Lucky me. If the sun cooperates, I’ll be wearing them to celebrate National Sunglass Day, silly though it is.