2 years, 10 months.
Dear Jack,
I haven’t been brave enough to take you to the mall since the first time Mommy and I tried well over a year ago.
It was such a test of my patience then, that I remember making some sort of declaration to Mommy afterwards, like, “We are never doing this again!”
But hey, you’re nearly 3 years old now, I was up for the challenge again last weekend.
I just wanted to make sure that none of us would become physically exhausted from the trek through the huge Opry Mills mall in Nashville.
You’re definitely too tall and heavy now for Mommy or me to carry you around that far and for that long.
And the thought of you holding our hands in the midst of all those people, while we tried to shop for clothes, just sounded impossible.
So I had to ask myself, is it okay to take our jogging stroller to the mall? It’s the only stroller we have now and it made more sense than the Radio Flyer wagon.
The answer: most definitely.
It was so practical, like my Honda Element. I was able to stuff our purchased items under your seat as we rolled from store to store.
The tires made for a nice smooth ride as we politely swerved our way through the slow moving traffic and outspoken salespeople in the middle aisles, saying to us, “Excuse me, sir. May I ask you just one question?”
So let me explain why you’re wearing a bear hat in these pictures, by the way.
As you watched Mommy and me update our wardrobes at the Gap Outlet, you found a bear hat that you felt would be a great asset for your wardrobe as well.
And because you behaved so well during our mall trip, and allowed us to get our shopping done without any major issues, letting you have a random bear hat was no problem.
You got it.
In fact, you loved your new bear hat so much, that you insisted on wearing it not only to Target the next day, but to church as well.
I loved seeing the looks on the faces of other parents who instantly laughed to themselves once they saw you in your bear hat. It was as if to say, “A young boy in a bear hat, for no apparent reason. I get it… I like it.”
Our family mall trip was a success. The jogging stroller was a good idea.
And out of the deal, you got a random bear hat, that you love to wear out in public but privately treat as a pet bear.
Just another normal story in parenting…
Love,
Daddy
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