Target

COVID has forced a number of changes in my life. Because of our son, we have severely limited our contact with the outside world and basically eliminated his. Outside of walks and going to the pool or my mother-in-laws, Rory doesn’t leave our house. It’s…repetitive.

My wife and I haven’t gone out to eat in a restaurant since early March. We’ve done takeout but haven’t dined in. Sidenote: You learn pretty quickly which places to get carryout from. Fuzzy’s Tacos? Delicious. They wrap each taco in tin foil so it stays warm and wonderful. Chili’s? Not so great. The fries are mushy and the food is cold and we only live about 8 minutes away. But anyway…

We haven’t traveled back to see my family in Wisconsin (had to cancel two flights). We haven’t been able to have any play-dates with Rory and other kids. We aren’t going to museums or movies or getting fro-yo. I miss fro-yo so much. So, so much.

But I may miss one thing that seems incredibly insignificant on the surface but was important to me. Strapping my kid into the car, taking him to a store, and just walking around. It seems like such a stupid, minor thing, but life was so much better when I could take him to Target with me. Maybe I only needed two or three things, but it was as much about giving my wife a little breather as it was me getting a can of black beans. Or, let’s be honest, a one pound bag of peanut M&Ms.

I am sure some of you are saying, “Well, why don’t you just bring him?” I’ll answer that–because that’s crazy. We’ve been social distancing champions. We make people leave stuff on the porch. We wear masks wherever we go (because, you know, science over Youtube). We take this stuff seriously. I’m not about to expose my kid to COVID because I want a one pound bag of peanut M&Ms. No matter how badly I want it. Right now.

But I still miss it. I’m excited for the day when I can bring him back to a store and give my wife a break. Actually, at that time, I’ll probably be bringing two kids to the store to give her a break. I want those 30 minutes when he’s excited because he’s somewhere new, and I’m excited because I’m not listening to the Daniel Tiger theme song for the fifth straight episode (as if it’s not playing in my head 24/7 anyway). Hopefully that day returns soon. Because I am out of M&Ms.