Memory Mall

My son had the day off from school today, so we went to the mall.

Oddly enough, it prompted a trip down memory lane.

During the cold winter months, when all three of my kids were toddlers, the mall served the same purpose as a park: it got us out of the house and around other people. These days, my tween son likes to go there to see, hear, and touch the electronic devices & other gadgets that he wishes he could own.

Once upon a time, Gymboree was a favorite - I loved their children's clothes, and the kids loved the sing-along videos continually playing on the TV in the back of the store. From the front of the store to the back of it was the extent of our separation, yet we were all kept busy and entertained.

On our shopping trip today, the distance of our separation has lengthened. My 11-year-old and I frequently split up to do our own thing in different stores, to meet again later. (He wanted nothing to do with clothes shopping, and I'd become bored with electronics window shopping.)

As I left Everything But Water, I knew I'd find him at Sony across the way.

And there he was, in the back of the store, just like in the olden days. But instead of watching a Zoo Safari video, he was immersed in some PS3 game that he was playing on the ginormous flat-screen, decimating vehicles with his character's superpowers.

I stood there, watching my boy, remembering him as that cherub-faced toddler nearly a decade ago. Isn't it strange how we can walk down Memory Lane in the most unusual of places?