A Very Target Christmas

I love Target . The store is clean. The people who work there are friendly and competent, and we have a relatively new store near us that's never very busy. It's like they opened it just for me. On my friend Anna Lisa's recommendation we sometimes hit the snack bar on the way in and pay one dollar for a bag of popcorn. Everyone's happy. Everyone's quiet. I can't get that for a buck in my own home. Retail heaven..... and the truth is I'm not even much of a shopper.

Mostly I just go there to find little bits of my own sanity to bring back home. I found lots of it today. First we went to Starbucks for a latte. Then, we stopped and visited with our Becky Bones at Salon Delange before we headed for Target. Today's list was a small one. We picked up what we came for and cruised around the seasonal isles checking out the latest for Christmas. Libby especially loved the snow globes and the houses that light up and have trains that move.

We checked out and left. On the way home I had two little sleepies in my backseat. I put on Christmas music and started to formulate a plan for what I'd do if both girls were asleep when I got home. Then, Libby says to me, "Mom, it's Christmas!" I replied, "It's getting close. Do you like the Christmas music?" and she says, "No Mom. It's Christmas at Target!"

Yep. Not the message I'd like her to be getting, but let's be honest, it's the message I'm sending. Things can sometimes get really mundane at home. Every morning coffee, breakfast, laundry, shower, blow dry my hair (which is, I think, the biggest waste of my time), lunch, naps etc. Sometimes Target is the place where I can interact with another adult. Today it was the girl at the snack bar. She has a three year old and an eight month old, and was dying to get off work so she could be home with them. Perfect. We connected.

We'll work on the Christmas message in the coming months. I suppose that means I need to stop telling Libby that Santa's watching every naughty thing she does. Otherwise, she'll probably hate him as much as she hates the idea of turning three.

Shane's with the girls doing pajamas and teeth and I suppose I should go help. We're going to put the girls to bed and then I need to devise a lesson plan for teaching Libby to be thankful. I've only got a day to make sure she is.....