A First

Mall rides.

They used to come in the form of 2 horses galloping in rhythm near the exit of Zellers, and my parents always coughed up the quarter it took to make them buck. Now it's a car and an under the sea merry-go-round, and they cost a loonie. The effect, exactly the same. Spencer and Ryder hung out with us last Friday afternoon and after waiting patiently for Magdelyn to wake up from her nearly 4 hour nap, we ran a few errands together. Errands, interspersed with mall rides.

My aunt M.E. is one of the busiest people I know. She worked full time and raised two great kids and I asked her once how it'd all gotten done. She said "we made every errand an outing. Even grocery shopping can be fun." Grocery shopping with my aunt ME was fun. I went with her once, and remember it vividly 25 years later. She broke open a box of cookies and in the next aisle gave us a juice box to rinse down the crumbs. I wondered out loud if we were stealing, and she assured me that as long as we kept the wrappers and paid on the way out it was fine. It was more then fine, it was an experience.

I think that a mall ride here or there are a great way to turn an errands into an Aunt ME inspired outing. And honestly ... I'd pay a lot more then a loonie to see that smile.