One week, Zevin's mother offered to take his two children with her to the mall while she returned items. "It'll be fun," Zevin's mother told him. "I've got a bunch of stuff to return. They'll have a ball." "Though you may wonder how returning merchandise to the mall could possibly be fun for children – or for any living organism at any stage of its life cycle – one thing I've always admired about my mother is her genuine joy of returning," Zevin wrote. "Even way back when she'd bring me, my brother and my sister to the Short Hills Mall (on an average of seven nights a week), buying stuff was always just half the transaction. The other half was bringing it all back to request a refund, rebate, exchange, exemption, credit, coupon, voucher, prize, certificate, explanation, apology, and/or affidavit... All these years later, my embarrassment has turned to respect. I tried to return Leo's coat to the store the other day because the zipper was busted. Within five minutes, I was fighting with the saleslady. I gave up when she said I should take better care of my children's clothes."
