I had to make a Target run, and since I’m cat sitting and have to do that right after work, my usual shopping time slot was taken up. Instead, I went at 8pm. I am a morning shopper, not a nighttime one, so it was an interesting experience, because it was an entirely different sort of crowd.
First, there was a group of teenage boys milling about in the tampon aisle (guess what was at the top of my shopping list?). WTF? I kept checking back periodically–even if I’d wanted to wade through them to get to the Tampax, I couldn’t have because they were blocking the whole aisle–but 5, 10, 15, 20 minutes later, they were still there. Again, WTF?!
So I did my other shopping while I was waiting for the boys to move along. I kept crossing paths with a mother and young boy. In the ice cream aisle, she patiently explained to him that no, they couldn’t buy any treats, because she didn’t have enough money, but she would in TWO DAYS, so he’d have to wait until then. He put the box of ice cream sandwiches back and followed his mom into another aisle. I felt badly for them both. Being poor sucks.
I met up with them again in another part of the store, and he was asking over and over and over and over again, with the same intonation every time, “Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this?” Each time, he picked up something different. Mom totally ignored him. And you know what, sometimes ignoring your kid is the right thing to do. He wasn’t misbehaving in any way. He just wanted a something, which he couldn’t have. What else are you going to do, as a parent? Press the issue and turn his obsessive request-O-rama into a temper tantrum?
Finally, after I finished all my other shopping, the boys had vacated the tampon aisle. I went to get my Tampax and saw that the condom display was next to the pads. Ah! That’s what they were doing. Good for them!
At the checkout, I was behind the mother and boy. While she was paying, he was over at the cold drink case, asking “Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this? Mom can I get this?” After she paid, she called him and they left. The cashier turned and looked at me, a little bug-eyed. Imagine how the kid’s mom felt!
red paper boat 