Lessons From The Mall
Yes, from the mall.
It’s a good place for walking. You don’t have to sign up as a “Strider” to get exercise. If you originally park on one end for your intended errand but then agree to visit somewhere, Playtown for instance, on the other end, do you move the car, or do you decide to walk knowing it’s going to take a while? Perhaps under average circumstances this would not be the case, but me, about eight and a half months pregnant, I have to walk super slow. My body is capable of walking at normal speed but doing so ends up causing discomfort. I agreed to take Sara Ellen to Playtown to run around and thankfully she was also happy to dance her way there, not running off or complaining that I was too slow. I probably just seem to be strolling. I don’t think I usually waddle.
Playtown is a good place for kids to run and adults to sit, or for parents of little ones to explore and observe. Sara Ellen goes there in hopes of making friends. She even likes to talk to the parents of other kids. She is aware and careful of smaller children and usually has a good sense of which parents are friendly. It’s important for her to have good relationships with other adults, but I often have to remind her that while she is free to play with the other kids, we don’t have relationships with their parents and I wish her to stick to playing with the kiddos.
It seems pointless, sometimes, for baristas to request names for cups. What if they totally misunderstand you? Often the person who actually makes the beverage only announces the type of drink, not the name. So when I responded to the “grande iced chai” and saw “Magda”, I asked him if there was another being made or if I was just misunderstood. I expected the cup might read “Rebecca”, but not something completely different.
Children like to shop too. Sara Ellen requested we visit Bath and Body Works, not a place I mind visiting. She likes to pick up and smell the colorful products. I was happy to discover a new product, Shower Gelee, a cleanser with scrubbers in limited scents. I had actually wanted such a product recently, sometimes regular shower gel on a loufah isn’t enough to remove sunscreen. They only had 8-10 of their scents, not including Butterfly Flower which I currently use. Sara Ellen was more interested in smelling the body sprays. For some reason those were in better reach, but they are more potently scented and also a liquid easily spilled if opened. Next, I actually stopped at a kiosk. I usually avoid them because their employees are so pushy. As I spoke to someone, Sara Ellen was behind me in a luggage store. When I finished and turned around, she had brought out a bright pink carry-on! I quickly put it back, no one the wiser apparently and continued to slowly make our way out. Obviously I talked to her about proper shopping behavior: “If you want to show me something, come and get me, don’t bring it to me.” As I was asking her to repeat this to me, we were walking through Macy’s and she pointed out turquoise pants, in the men’s section…. Me thinks she was just drawn to the bright color, not demonstrating proper shopping behavior.
You don’t know what you might encounter by using a less central exit, and, I’m not sure what my spare change will do for a beggar. We had parked by a store close to, but not physically part of the mall. Passing between them is a sidewalk wider than a car. A man was quietly sitting next to a bag and cart asked for some change. I saw him before reaching him so kept up a conversation with Sara Ellen and looking elsewhere. He asked, I apologized, he blessed me, and we continued our conversation and on to our car. I don’t usually have cash anyway, but even having a little, I wasn’t going to dig for it. Last time we visited the mall a woman with eye troubles in a wheel chair came up to Sara Ellen and I in the same area. She never asked for anything. She was a nice enough lady and we had a short conversation while waiting for Tim to join us. I was happy to give her a little friendly interaction, if nothing else.
Despite moving at a snail’s pace, today’s was a pleasant visit. Also, I got a wicked deal on DIY baby announcements at Target yesterday. A box of 50 8.5 x 5.5 blank cards with small, pink dots for $3.99!! There was only one box left. They also had boxes with blue dots and those were $22.99. For whatever reason, the pink box rang up at the higher price so I had to go back today for an adjustment. It rang up again at the higher price, and the ladies didn’t believe it. Well, it is a huge difference. One lady retrieved the price tag and it was fixed. They won’t have to deal with it again, but I wonder if I’m the only one who profitted.
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