My brother Aaron lives in DC and also doesn’t do much shopping—
certainly not much shopping in malls or big box stores— and since we both share
a dislike of shopping in general, he’s the perfect company for me. We wander
around amazed at the bright lights and loud whistles of robust consumerism. We either eat ice cream or drink beer,
depending on my pregnancy status, and we don’t get much done, other than spending time together. We try not to
make lists of things to do so that we can’t fail. Anything we might come away
with is a bonus!
Aaron came over, we had dinner at our house, and then the
two of us headed out for our night of not accomplishing anything more than
hanging out and having quality sibling time. I had one thing I needed to do; I
needed to pick up our Christmas cards at Wal Mart. Aaron hadn’t done any
Christmas shopping, so he was asking about what the boys would like for Christmas. I said
something about Duplo blocks because they’re really into them lately, and Aaron
saw a Toys R Us sign. I’d only been to a Toys R Us once or twice. Aaron had
never been to one. We weren’t in the lane to turn but we made an exciting, fast
lane change and swung over to make the turn. A snap decision! We were off to
the most exciting start to our non-shopping trip that we’d ever had! After we made the quick turn we saw the store was actually a Babies R Us.
False alarm.
False awesomeness.
Then we couldn’t make a U turn and we had to drive onto a deserted and closed satellite college campus. It was quite a letdown. We drove toward Wal Mart, feeling cheated.
We promptly took another wrong turn or two before we actually walked into the blazing lights and dancing colors and curious smells of Wal Mart. We quickly took care of the only item on my list and picked up our cards. Then Aaron realized he needed printer ink and we were off to get swallowed up in the madness. He sat down with the ink cartridges for a long time while I just thumbed through the bins and bins of CDs and DVDs. Alas, the giant aisle of print cartridges did not have the one Aaron needed. However, he remembered that he needed some batteries, so he got those, and that made us feel oddly productive.
Aaron, lost amongst the cartridges |
After we paid, we ate frozen yogurt and headed to World Market. Reminder: I’m 11 weeks pregnant and have been an exhausted heap quite a bit during the past weeks. After we wandered around a little, this fog of tiredness settled over me. There are always amusing, eccentric trinkets to be found at World Market, but after awhile it all runs together. Lord of The Rings Pez dispensers? Check. Bear keychains that poop? Check.
Aaron once again was caught up in the olive oils section and I finally succumbed to my exhaustion and sat down in an abandoned corner nestled up with some pig-shaped roaster crock things. That's what happens to me lately when I spy those enticing flat surfaces of any type. Even a cement floor gave me some rejuvenation. After ten minutes or so I stood up and we left the store. It was nearly miraculous: Aaron had found some gifts for his girlfriend! I found a few stocking stuffers.
View from my delightfully flat surface |
We had more good sibling conversation on the way home and I sent him off to Chicago and Idaho for Christmastime. It was a remarkably successful Dawn and Aaron non-shopping trip. And I curled up in my coat in the fetal position on the gloriously flat dining room floor for the night.
Just kidding. I went to real bed. It was hard to shuffle down the hall, but I made it.
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