Nothing could replace the thrill of choosing between a black or red pen, as I submerged myself into my imaginary world.  Paging through retail store catalogues and magazines.  Advertising sales, from groceries to beauty products, toys and properties, elegant meals and furniture.  Each tick of an item, unaffordable, yet enjoyable. 

This the joy of my childhood.  Especially during festive season when you’d have shiny catalogue books with MANY items to choose from.  Wondering which Christmas gift I’d prefer, imagining a shopping trolley filled to the brink with groceries. From six pack drinking yoghurts, to cheese – lots of cheese, hot chocolate, daily essentials and the most expensive toiletry goodies. Ticking my way through these ads, I could smell the perfume and soaps as the shop lights reflected on the sparking tiles.

Now, decades later I find myself paging through my textbook.  Wondering if people realise how much joy these ads can bring into a child’s imaginary world? Or, perhaps it’s only me? Paging through these catalogues and magazines, each tick, an imaginary sale.  An escape from a reality where most of the items on my list would never make it into my mom’s shopping basket.

Today, an adult, I walk down the aisle and hope to find 900gr cheese for less than R90! I scan over the yoghurts and give it a miss. Hot chocolate? Nah, not a necessity.  Expensive toiletries? Maybe in my next lifetime. A designer couch and an elegant bedroom with lots of natural light as I type away about the day I wrote this post.

The joy of childhood, shiny advertising catalogues and magazines – allowing for a shopping experience that does not require a healthy bank balance, only a rich imagination.

About Me