mr. washington

i usually try and do some "quick" errands when jacob is home with the girls. my goal is efficiency in time management. last night, i decided to throw that out the window and invite little jess to come along with me to good 'ol walmart for some special mommy and jessa time. not your super classy mommy/daughter date, but i figure any one-on-one time is valuable and profitable. she eagerly said, "SURE! i have to get my shoes on first!" i knew right away this was going to be fun. turning an average errand into classic bonding moments always is.

on the way up the road, i remembered there is a dollar store right next to walmart. i asked jess if she wanted to go there. we all know what a three year old would say to that. as we entered the parking lot and found our spot, i turned to her in the backseat with a dollar in my hand offering it to her. i explained what this dollar meant and that everything in this store cost the amount of this one bill. she was allowed to pick out one thing. one thing only. remember the bills shooting out of exhaust pipes? yeah...one thing only was enough. i was prepared with nine cents in my pocket for unexpected tax to this toddler's mind. wasn't it just seven cents yesterday? hmm...whatever.

as little feet found there way around each toy aisle, she carefully considered her options. it was interesting to watch her feel things. touch. see. explore. choose. she knew she had a serious choice to make and she could not fail in the process. i found a strawberry shortcake flying water disk on a higher shelf that i thought she might like to see. she immediately decided with an, "i want that", that this was IT. i doubly checked if she was sure and encouraged that we continue looking just in case she found something else. now, as mama is feeling a little guilty about finding the one item she loved. she found several other things that were...how should i put it...awkward in choice? she continued to carry her disc around, holding it up to other choices as a standard of choosing. each time, the disc won the top spot. i could see the wheels spinning in her head as she knew she could only choose this or that. i could feel the tension of only one thing playing through her little cognitive mind.

as we rounded our fifth aisle, i told her she better choose so we could walk over to the next store. she went with her original choice and was happy. she almost traded it out at the checkout for an umbrella. i despise those checkouts...trying to suck you into last minute decisions, throwing off your total game plan. how dare they. as she proudly paid and handed over her single dollar, she was ecstatic to receive her receipt. i think for her, that's the best part. for me, it's just a reminder of how much i just dumped into their till. she always keeps her receipt with her toy in her room until i sneakily retrieve it to the garbage after a time of enjoyment.

i knew this time with my little jess was special. as we walked hand-in-hand through two parking lots and a strip of sidewalk, she was excitedly swinging my hand back and forth with squeals of delight. she looked up at me, squinting from sun in her eyes and declared with enthusiasm, "mama, i looove you!" i responded with a warm, "oh baby, i love you too. sooo much!" of course, this turned into a battle of who loved each other more as it always becomes a game.

i relish in these times of being a little girl again. she reminds me of what simple happiness is. that one dollar is worth more than what meets the eye. it's not just a green, grity, hardly-worth-anything piece of paper. it's walking and laughing hand-in-hand. it's smiling. it's excitment of finding one treasure. it's spending time with each other. it's most definitely more. thank you, mr. washington, for reminding me there's more to your head of big white curls.

and walmart was just as exciting as walmart can be.