A trip to Kmart

A trip to Kmart
I took my 1 ½-year old son to Kmart with me to get a birthday card for Opa, whose birthday happens to fall on Valentine’s Day – every year even.

Normally I carry him in and plop him into a grocery cart and away we go. He’s a good little shopping-cart rider. But today I thought – why not let him walk around a bit?

So right inside the store, I stood him on the floor. He froze for a few moments – unsure what to do with this new freedom. He has rarely been given the opportunity to roam around at a department store or grocery store before. After that momentary hesitation, off he went.

We were able to go right to the card section and find a good card for Opa. Since Mom and Kylie were working on Valentine cards at home for family and friends, I was in no rush. I soon decided to not buy the laundry detergent we needed, but instead to just let Davin roam.

He took off with delight for the south end of the store. He turned right and walked to the southwest corner of the store, not even noticing the four toy aisles we passed. After spending just a moment or two in the hardware section of the store, we turned right and headed for the opposite corner of Kmart. (But we would be returning to this section before long). Whizzing past the electronics and books, we soon arrived at the northwest corner of the store – the men’s department. On the way, I heard comments from other families like “I need a big-girl bike” and “Stop whining. Other people can hear you.”

When we reached the men’s department, we took an immediate right and headed for the baby section. Davin noticed Elmo right away on various signs and boxes. But before long we were retracing our steps back to the hardware section. We had hit all four corners of Kmart. That’s a lot of steps for a little guy.

We spent the next 10 minutes in about four different aisles. Davin loved the vacuum cleaners. He loves to follow Mom around when she vacuums. He pointed at the different ones and waited for me to say the color of each one. Then came the storage bins, which were good for drumming. Next he saw the garbage hits, which were also a big hit, because the garbage cans had swinging tops. Then we came across shelf liner. That was a big hit with Davin. Boy, what a ball he had picking up a roll and then putting it back in its place just right. Finally after trying on a wicker basket as a hat and some banging on the metal store shelves, I thought we had better start heading for the exit.

I thought he might try screaming, but it was no big deal. He handed the cashier the $10 bill for the card, but I took the change. And we were off.

It was a simple outing, but it’s a stage in Davin’s life that he won’t be in for much longer. It’s that stage of just pure joy or glee of exploration. He didn’t need toys, games, or candy to be happy. He just loved the adventure of exploring the aisles of Kmart. We all need that -- the sheer joy of life and all of its little adventures.