hi, i'm a mac

One of the boy's fondest memories has to be a trip to the Apple Store with Papa. Although I'm not sure how much of his enjoyment came from the actual Apple Store and how much came from the coin-operated vehicles in the food court -- or maybe it was the chocolate chip cookie they shared.

Anyhow, since the weather's been kind of yucky lately, we haven't gone outside much. And unfortunately for one little boy, some people can only take so much of the construction and deconstruction of marble things, towers, railroad tracks, what have you, in a day. So yesterday, I had an idea. "Hey buddy, wanna go to the Apple Store? -- Buddy? Buddy?" (He passed out from excitement.)

So we load up on quarters -- you know, the quarters you need for the coin-operated "Apple Store." I watch as he takes great pleasure and choosing only the biggest coins from his college fund (priorities, you know?). He takes a turn riding almost every vehicle while I notice that even though the vehicle changes, the simulated ride doesn't; it's pretty much the same motion whether it's a helicoptor, Mickey Mouse car, or Scoop from Bob the Builder. But what do you expect for 75 cents? Um, I kind of expect more, actually.

Next, we ride up and down the escalators. Then we do ourselves a little window shopping that goes a little something like this: "Do you like that, Mama?" "Oh, yes." "Do you like that Mama?" "Yes, I do --That's pretty!" "Do you like that Mama?" "Ohh, yes, the scent of cologne wafting from Abercrombie and Fitch, very nice."

Then, we wrap up our trip to the mall with a stop at the toddler play area. Last time we tried that, I think it was more stress than fun for the little man. All the other kids seemed so big around him at the time. But this time it was a whole different story. He was giggling, running, climbing and sweating right alongside the other munchkins. After about 1/2 hour, he was ready to go.

We never made it to the Apple Store. There was just too much other mall fun to be had. And that's probably the last time you'll ever hear those words come out of my mouth (or see them come off my fingers).