Today we did something that is beyond my comfort zone and completely out of sync with my personality. Those who know me well, know that I have no "woo" factor and I shy away from anything of high "cheese" value. By nature, I am perhaps a more serious, introspective person and the little charm I possess is masked by the most dry sense of humor known to man. I prefer quiet, more formal settings and am in no way a cheerleader or charismatic personality.
With that said, you can imagine how awkward I felt when I entered the doors of Build a Bear today. A friend had given me a coupon for a free "stuffing" and Todd and I thought we would check it out and create something personal for Samuel. We were greeted by the most eager staff, and surrounded by the most anxious and excited kids. The background music played tunes like, "Here we are at the Build a Bear Workshop" sung in high pitched voices.
Step 1 - choose an animal to stuff. We were immediately drawn to the turtle, dinosaur and monkey, but after much consideration we decided the dinosaur could be scary to our young little man and the turtle would eventually lose his shell. Therefore, by process of elimination - it came down to a monkey we named Max.
The best part - the part that sent us over the edge - was when we took it to the stuffing counter. We were given a small, red heart to place inside Max. Oh, but the fun didn't stop there. We were asked to kiss the heart and make a wish on it. As you can imagine, my stomach immediately tied up in knots... Kiss a heart and make a wish on it? Here with this cheesy music playing in the background? We opted to simply place the heart inside Max and whisper a silent wish to ourselves. Before Max was handed over to us, the clerk said, "Now give it a hug and make sure he's fluffy enough for you." I smiled and politely said, "He's fine." There are simply some things I just can bring myself to do!
Next we stepped over to the dressing station. Young little girls were fighting over glitz and sequins for their furry friends. If I wasn't nauseous enough from the thought of kissing a little red heart in front of the man at the stuffing machine, the sight of glittery dresses and poofy outfits sent me into an internal fit.
At last, we found an outfit we could tolerate - a Mav's jersey and sweatbands. Just last weekend, some friends of ours bought Samuel a Mav's jersey so we thought this outfit would be perfect. We were so excited to find something not adorned with pink lace or over-the-top commercial figures that we immediately swept it into our arms and threw it onto Max.
We reached the last station to create our birth certificate with what little pride we still possessed and paid for our precious Max. I handed the clerk my coupon, looked down at Max and thought, "Did I really just pay that much money for a stuffed animal?"
As we strolled out of the workshop, a clerk stood up on the chair to address the small children saying, "Feel free to try on as many outfits as you like. If you find one that doesn't work, throw it to the side and try a new one. Hip-hip-hooray! Everyone thumbs up!" It was at that moment I was gently reminded why elementary education never appealed to me.
Todd and I walked Max to the car, safe inside the build a bear cardboard home they provided us, and I realized that I had just survived my first test into motherhood. While I personally felt queasy inside the Build a Bear store, I could totally understand the draw it has for children. And so, as I approach the threshold of parenthood I must come face to face with the fact that I'm going to have to "dig deep" and find a way to embrace the inner child.
Ok, maybe the word "embrace" is a little too strong...perhaps I could begin by "tolerating" places such as Build a Bear.
My list of things to work on before Samuel arrives:
Come to peace with refrigerator magnets
Learn to let the house get a little dirty
Stop saying hateful things behind the wheel of my car
Tolerate the "cheese factor"
I hope Samuel appreciates the sacrifice I am making for him and most importantly, I hope I succeed with at least one agenda item on the list!
With that said, you can imagine how awkward I felt when I entered the doors of Build a Bear today. A friend had given me a coupon for a free "stuffing" and Todd and I thought we would check it out and create something personal for Samuel. We were greeted by the most eager staff, and surrounded by the most anxious and excited kids. The background music played tunes like, "Here we are at the Build a Bear Workshop" sung in high pitched voices.
Step 1 - choose an animal to stuff. We were immediately drawn to the turtle, dinosaur and monkey, but after much consideration we decided the dinosaur could be scary to our young little man and the turtle would eventually lose his shell. Therefore, by process of elimination - it came down to a monkey we named Max.
The best part - the part that sent us over the edge - was when we took it to the stuffing counter. We were given a small, red heart to place inside Max. Oh, but the fun didn't stop there. We were asked to kiss the heart and make a wish on it. As you can imagine, my stomach immediately tied up in knots... Kiss a heart and make a wish on it? Here with this cheesy music playing in the background? We opted to simply place the heart inside Max and whisper a silent wish to ourselves. Before Max was handed over to us, the clerk said, "Now give it a hug and make sure he's fluffy enough for you." I smiled and politely said, "He's fine." There are simply some things I just can bring myself to do!
Next we stepped over to the dressing station. Young little girls were fighting over glitz and sequins for their furry friends. If I wasn't nauseous enough from the thought of kissing a little red heart in front of the man at the stuffing machine, the sight of glittery dresses and poofy outfits sent me into an internal fit.
At last, we found an outfit we could tolerate - a Mav's jersey and sweatbands. Just last weekend, some friends of ours bought Samuel a Mav's jersey so we thought this outfit would be perfect. We were so excited to find something not adorned with pink lace or over-the-top commercial figures that we immediately swept it into our arms and threw it onto Max.
We reached the last station to create our birth certificate with what little pride we still possessed and paid for our precious Max. I handed the clerk my coupon, looked down at Max and thought, "Did I really just pay that much money for a stuffed animal?"
As we strolled out of the workshop, a clerk stood up on the chair to address the small children saying, "Feel free to try on as many outfits as you like. If you find one that doesn't work, throw it to the side and try a new one. Hip-hip-hooray! Everyone thumbs up!" It was at that moment I was gently reminded why elementary education never appealed to me.
Todd and I walked Max to the car, safe inside the build a bear cardboard home they provided us, and I realized that I had just survived my first test into motherhood. While I personally felt queasy inside the Build a Bear store, I could totally understand the draw it has for children. And so, as I approach the threshold of parenthood I must come face to face with the fact that I'm going to have to "dig deep" and find a way to embrace the inner child.
Ok, maybe the word "embrace" is a little too strong...perhaps I could begin by "tolerating" places such as Build a Bear.
My list of things to work on before Samuel arrives:
Come to peace with refrigerator magnets
Learn to let the house get a little dirty
Stop saying hateful things behind the wheel of my car
Tolerate the "cheese factor"
I hope Samuel appreciates the sacrifice I am making for him and most importantly, I hope I succeed with at least one agenda item on the list!
4 comments:
Like all good momies, your will achieve all your goals eventualy, at different times and for a period of time. Then you will regress on some and best of all be at peace with your imperfect regressions
I KNOW you will nurture you inner child when you get to see Samuel experiencing life. There is nothing more simple and beautiful then seeing the wonder that surrounds us while watching your child discover it.
Dear friend, give yourself some credit - because I certainly do! You will love this child for who he is - and he will absolutely love you for who you are!
Objectively speaking, you have tons of charm! My Samuel is still talking about you! He was bummed that you were not going to keep him company on the way home today.
Your heart has led you through this journey to Samuel. Your heart will lead you through the journey of mother and son. It is a good, thoughtful, compassionate, loyal heart. Trust it. Who says the froo froo cheerleader-type moms have all the fun?!?
Let me know if I can get you anything. Absolutely.
Rebecca
I love the monkey! There's just no doubt our lives will change with the addition of children. I bet we'll be amazed at the things we let go of or embrace based on what our kids need or want, without even thinking. I'm really into exploring this idea right now so I loved reading your post. Thanks for sharing your build-a-bear moment!
I love Samuel's hip monkey! Welcome to the hood....motherhood! :-)
Blessings,
Kristy
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