Davey’s mommy talks about a problem close to my heart. That ol’ Wal-Mart covetousness. There are certain aisles that I just have to avoid when shopping or my whole work of legitimate product procurement for the family is totally derailed. For instance, though I may always be cooking the books to make sure I have adequate funds for groceries, I find myself drawn to the dishware aisle at Target. So I try to avoid it altogether.

Martha and I were shopping for shower gifts for my sister, when I stumbled across a display of melamine Christmas plates. Hey, they weren’t in the usual place....these were temptingly placed in the front of the store. As I started to speculate about how well the candy-striped plates would go with the Christmas plates we already have, Martha came to my aid. She was able to talk me through my moment of weakness. On the way home, she suggested that I get a cell phone. “Then if you are shopping alone, you could call Fr. ____ to talk you through your crisis.” Cute idea. But.....a) I don’t want a cell phone. b) I can’t imagine calling the rectory and gasping out, “Please find Fr. ____, I’m in the dish aisle at Target and I need help.”