I spent the whole day doing something I used to hate.

Every day is a story.

I'm Shannon Kaysen.

I drove my mom around all day to do her shopping.

Now, when I was a little kid,

she used to drive me around to do her errands,

which was torture.

But now here I am driving her around.

And the first stop was a ladies' clothing store called Willow Tree and Windup.

And I know this place well.

My mom worked at Ford Motor Company for over 30 years as an executive assistant.

Then as a member of the safety program when we first started

to have it legally wear safety bills. She was a part of that. So she would get nice clothes

to go to work every day. And Willow Tree was one of her spots. Willow Tree is a curation of

fine women's clothing.

And then down the block, it was a place called Chelsea,

which was a curation of men's, nice men's clothing.

So when we walk in the store, there's a smiling salesperson who was going to help my mom.

And that smile meant that her and my mom were about to have a long,

random conversation.

My mom lives for long,

random conversations with strangers.

...