Typical Day

I had two errands to accomplish on Friday.
First, get a flu shot.
Second, buy a birthday present for our one year old great nephew, Brady.

My friend Terri gave me a great gift idea for Brady. A Melissa and Doug puzzle. Handmade, very sturdy and after checking online, I discovered they were in stock at my local Toys R Us store.

Off I went to my 10:00 a.m. flu shot appointment. I walked in to my doctors' office, checked in and went and sat down for what I was thinking would be a short wait. Ten minutes later, I was called back, got my shot and left.

I drove to Toys R Us. A smidge over 10 miles away and started thinking that I didn't know how many years it had been since I'd shopped in the store. I remember a time when I felt like I "almost lived at Toys R Us" and then our kids "outgrew the toy part of life." (That's also when the gifts got a lot more expensive too.)

I took a shopping cart and found a cute card for Brady. Then I started wandering around looking for an Apple to Apple game I wanted for our family and of course a Melissa and Doug Puzzle for Brady.

Right away I determined that Toys R Us had too much visual stimulation for me. I started thinking that the place could drive me to drink. I looked in the aisle that had board games, saw the sign that said they were in alphabetical order and then wondered in what classroom they learned what alphabetical order meant? The shelf started with "C" and next to Candyland was Monolopy. YIKES!

I gave up (for the moment) and went in search of puzzles. Not only did I find the aisle with a sign that said "Puzzles" but underneath that lovely word was "Melissa and Doug Puzzles." Hooray! I found two puzzles for Brady and was sorting through them to find the most pristine conditioned ones when a woman and a toddler came into my line of vision. I apologized for sorting through and stacking the puzzles along the shelf and she turned to me and said, "Were you just at a doctor's office?"

I'm sure my face registered my confusion....and after a pause....I said, "Yes." Then she said, "I thought I recognized your green shirt."

Note to self: If I want to go unnoticed, I shouldn't wear lime green.

Second thing to ponder: A young mom (with a toddler) has sharper mind recall than me.

Thirdly: It really is a small world when we ended up over 10 miles away and saw each other again.

Lastly: My arm hurts from my flu shot, but I accomplished buying our great nephew's gifts for his first birthday.

My purchase at Toys R Us: Puzzles for Brady, gift bag and birthday card with a big "1" on it, and Apples to Apples for my family. Thanks Terri for the great gift idea!

Happy First Birthday Brady!



Do you have a toy store experience you'd like to share?