Forest of the Plains

I would like to clarify that although this was a non-too-subtle reminder for those who already knew what was on the baby registries (I had sent out a shameless email a couple weeks ago), the main point was that I am laughing at myself. I can't quite believe I would be happy with a stroller or diapers for Christmas. I mean, come on! There just shouldn't be any excitement in either of those items!

Let me tell you, it sure was exciting when I did get a stroller Friday night. Yea! I immediately assembled it myself in the middle of everyone else's presents. (I did make sure to avoid smashing anything.)

Jacob and I ventured to the mall on The Saturday Before Christmas to test drive the stroller. The stroller was wonderful. I could steer with one hand as I happily sipped my mocha from the new Mokas branch at the mall. Jacob could recline while I tried on clothes that actually fit my oddly shaped post-pregnancy body. My shoulders didn't ache from balancing a diaper bag and baby carrier. And I didn't have to carry my bags since they balanced very nicely on the stroller's handles.

Poor little Jacob was a little freaked out by the stroller experience. Since he was already extremely extra overstimulated from the Christmas gathering where we acquired the stroller, taking him to the overcrowded mall probably wasn't the best parenting choice that I could have made. By the time we got from the parking lot into the mall, he was staring as if he had seen a ghost! Initially we stopped every 5 minutes for me to talk to him and he did eventually calm down. Do you think it helped that I promised he could Build-A-Bear as soon as he was old enough?

I am used to being at the mall during a weekday when you can park right beside an entrance, the only other people there are white soccer moms, there are 50 mall employees per customer, and you can hear a pin drop in the food court. This was not the case during this visit. I really enjoyed how it was a cultural experience. You could hear so many ethnicities speaking different languages. Families were there. Men were present and a decent percentage were carrying bags from Victoria's! The sales people were busy helping people who wanted help, so we were free to shop without being bombarded by bored sales people 50 million times per minute. And I thought of Cliff as I considered counting the number of baggy pants that were about to fall off so many males.

I was very encouraged by the humanity and good will that was at the mall. I witnessed several happy reunions of people who had not seen each other in a long time. Each time I went through a non-handicap accessible door with the stroller, someone held the door for me. People waited patiently in line for the elevators, helping each other and joking about how many people squeezed into the elevator.

Merry Christmas!