I took Jack and Dimitri to Target yesterday to get some food shopping done and to give Erin a chance to do some work without having to mediate any toddler disputes. Those of you who live in the New York area know that yesterday’s weather was cold and rainy, which seemed to mirror the mood of the suburban shoppers who were trolling the isles with blank looks on their faces, piling mounds of useless crap into their carts and muttering about the economy.
Jack was asleep when we got there, which was a relief, as he has been in some kind of foul mood lately, probably brought on by the onset of cold weather and the concomitant restriction of his daily access to the local playground. Target has these nifty carts with baby seats attached, so I slung Jack’s sleeping body into the seat and put Dimitri in the basket where I proceeded to cover him up to his neck in juice boxes, cereal and chicken nuggets. By the time we got around to the toy isle I was starting to become concerned that someone was going to drop a dime to Children’s Services, so I pulled him out of the cart and let him wander around the toy isle.
Whenever I go to Target I invariably end up spending $50 or more on crap that we don’t need, but I am a fairly soft touch when it comes to children begging at my feet. I talk a good game when Erin is around, but will fold fairly easily if presented with a quavering lower lip and moist, teary eyes. They boys haven’t quite figured this out yet, but it’s only a matter of time. Yesterday’s haul was an old school Pac Man Video Game and a DVD of Cars, the movie. Whatever I saved by buying my chicken nuggets at a big box store, I lost in extraneous spending on consumer goods. Such is life in the suburbs. I thought after years of living in New York City I would be immune to the hustle, but suburban shopping malls have elevated the task of separating you from your money to an art form.
Well, at least I paid cash and didn’t kill anyone in my rush to the electronics department like some other consumers did in Valley Stream the other day. Jack slept the whole time and only woke up when I wheeled the heavily laden cart out into the parking lot. When I pushed out from under the protected awning he was pelted in the face by freezing rain and sat bolt upright trying to figure out where he was. It was an interesting feat of manual dexterity to steer the cart, hold Dimitri’s hand and keep Jack from jumping off the seat simultaneously. Fortunately, I have been working on my juggling skills lately and am happy to report I can keep several balls in the air at once. We made it home without incident and had a fun day overall.
