We had decided to do our spring cleaning early since each spring we have an annual inspection of all of the townhouses in our development. Since Kitty’s sister and I work full time, Kitty really did a bang-up job of tackling some projects all by herself. She did such a good job that I said, “Honey, you really helped out a lot and I really appreciate it. So what would you like to do as a reward?” The minute the sentence was out of my mouth I knew I should have put some parameters on it but it was too late: she immediately answered, “I want to go to Build-A-Bear Workshop.”
I have absolutely nothing against Build a Bear. But it’s waaaayyyy down the Northway at Crossgates Mall, and everyone who knows me knows that I hate venturing further south than exit 12. Crossgates is huge, and crowded, and I don’t know where anything is, and I really feel like I don’t fit in. Yet I found myself saying, “Okay.”
I was already stressed about the inspection. There are 3 women living in our townhouse, and we like clothes and shoes. Plus I rarely ever go into the girls’ rooms, so who knew what the landlord might find? But when Saturday morning rolled around and Mark came over, everything was pretty much copacetic: and of course he raved about Kitty’s curtains and how cleverly she had displayed her Living Dead Dolls, and on and on. I got, “Well there seems to be a bit more than I’d like to see in the corner by your closet. And Brie got, “Good Lord it’s a fire hazard! Please find somewhere to store all of your shoes and boots!” The good news is that her shoes and boots are all in boxes. The bad news is that she had 788 pairs of them. But since Mark is a really good friend, we’re golden until next spring and that stress was gone. So now I had to make good on my promise to take Kitty to Crossgates; so my mall stress kicked in.
I never go back on my word to her since she really is a good girl, so I forced myself to put on a happy face, get in the car, and drive the 40 or so miles to the mall.
As you can imagine, she was in very good spirits: it was a sunny day, she had gotten paid the day before, and she was trying to decide what to have for lunch afterwards. I was just praying that I could park close enough so I wouldn’t have to feel like I was walking for miles before I even reached the door. And speaking of door: Kitty made it to the entrance as I was barely out of the car! Who knew she could move that fast? But I guess when you’ve got Build a Bear on the brain; it puts wings on your feet!
I managed to catch up to her, and she unerringly knew exactly where we needed to go. But on the way we took a few moments to window shop at a couple of places. She wanted to look in the Swarovski window at all of the gorgeous crystal, and point out what she was going to buy me one day when she becomes rich. Then she thought I’d like to stop in a place called Teavana, because wasn’t I always looking for cherry-almond tea? So we went in and of course they didn’t have any cherry almond tea, unless I’d like for them to mix a couple of really nice expensive teas together (no tea bags in this place!), then sell me an individual steeper for $20. How did that sound? It sounded like a big NO to me, that’s how it sounded! But Kitty was busy sampling a couple of teas that they had out. And of course, one of the teas they showed her had a flower that bloomed when the tea seeped, and it was beautiful. Nope: no flower in my tea sample!
But when she had decided that we’d spent enough time in there, it was time to high tail it to the magical land of Build A Bear. I thought that it would be extremely busy on a Saturday, and I was right. There was even a birthday party going on. But she didn’t care: it was her day and I was just going to like it! So I stoically and supportively stood there, like a giant redwood tree, amongst the little children picking out their animals to have stuffed, and watched as Kitty picked out the exact right Ms. Piggy. Yes: MS. PIGGY from the Muppets! Then she got in line with me to wait until it was her turn at the stuffing machine.
As I looked around at all of the parents there with their little kids that were probably aged 9 and below, I couldn’t help wondering: what in the world were they thinking when they looked at us??? But as is often the case, it didn’t matter because Kitty was happy. She was patiently waiting in line, talking to me about what outfits she was going to buy for Piggy, and wondering how she was going to get along with Lady Baa Baa. Oh, Lady Baa Baa is the stuffed sheep she got on her birthday last year. So nope: this wasn’t our first foray into Build A Bear…
When it was finally her turn, she let the joy and magic of the place take over, and she did all of the things that the other kids had done: she spun around when she was supposed to, rubbed the little heart between her hands and gave it a kiss, and watched in fascination as the stuffing went into her new friend. When this process was complete, she took her to the “air bath” to brush her hair and get rid of any bits of stuffing that may have gotten on her pink dress. Then I trailed behind her as she picked out different outfits, shoes, sunglasses and the like. Finally, we got to the computers, where she made up Piggy’s birth certificate.
As we went to the register I told her that I’d buy a couple of outfits for her. Then I wondered if she was really going to pay for all of the remaining items she’d acquired, or if she was going to try to get me to do so. I’m sure you know the answer to that one! Yep: I fall for it every time. This time she said if Piggy had more clothes, then she and Baa Baa could trade outfits. Really Kitty? But by the time we got out of there Ms. Piggy had more clothes than I do! Plus we’d bought enough for the cashier to give us 2 gift cards and 2 sets of Easter egg coloring kits. So Kitty had quite a haul! So much so, that she felt magnanimous enough to let me go into Yankee Candle, where she helped to load me up with Vineyard scented candles. And we know how economically priced their merchandise is, ha ha!
I usually say that you can judge how happy Kitty is by how loudly she hums. Can I tell you: she started humming from the moment we got in the car, all the way up the Northway to Exit 19?? I kept surreptitiously turning up the radio but she still hummed away as she brushed Piggy’s hair, and looked at her outfits, and decided I needed to take her to Red Lobster for lunch. REALLY Kitty???
Yes, I took her to Red Lobster. And yes: she brought Ms. Piggy in with her. And yes; Ms. Piggy was sitting right across from me, staring at me with her big Piggy eyes. But I’m so used to Kitty and her whimsy, at one point I decided that I’d join in. When I saw her break off a little piece of biscuit and hold it to Piggy’s mouth, I said, “Honey, does Ms. Piggy like the cheddar bay biscuits?” She looked at me like I was crazy and said, “She’s not real mom, she didn’t eat it!” That was the end of the whimsy for me.
Other than that, lunch was good, Kitty had a great day and as we say in my family: when Kitty is happy, everyone is happy! And that’s the way it should always be 😊
