Tonight I was still inside Target at 10:55 pm. I went out to run a couple of errands after the kids went to bed and since I was blissfully alone without an infant or a toddler to keep entertained, I was taking my time and pointlessly browsing the store. You don't realize what a luxury pointless browsing is until you haven't done it in a while.
Finally, at 10:57 pm I decided I should go up to the front to check out. Being (for the most part) a rule-follower means that if I were to actually wait until they announced that it was 11:00 pm and the store was now closed before I went up front, I would feel both irresponsible for waiting until the last minute and anxious that they would tell me that they weren't going to allow me to buy anything since the store was now closed.
As I'm walking toward the front, I hear someone say "Just to let you know, we're closing in a couple of minutes". I turn, thinking they're talking to me and ready to reply that I'm headed out, when I hear someone say in response "I know - can you direct me to the baby section? This is an emergency run...she can't find her blanket and she won't go to sleep without it. I need one with a silky edge and it has to be big."
My first reaction was completely judgmental: 'Wow lady, your kid is WAY too attached to that blanket if you're making a trip to the store at 11:00 pm for a replacement.'
On the heels of my reaction was an echo of Gabe's voice in my mind, asking for his "bappie": his blanket with minky dot fabric on one side that he likes to rub his face on. His blanket that when he bumps against something or otherwise gets hurt, he immediately asks for and runs to get and then touches his blanket to the spot that's hurt as if it has magical healing powers. His blanket that he faithfully hands to me first each morning before climbing into our bed to cuddle.
And then I realized: 'Wow lady, your kid is way too attached to that blanket.'
1 comment:
Wow girl. Is it safe to out so late? You sure have a lot of dots on your world map.
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