Lily Claire is pretty particular about things. She likes things to be done a certain way. She needs to plan in her head how things will go. She likes structure. She sounds like me...
A few weeks ago we got the Pottery Barn Kids catalog in the mail. They had pages full of matching backpacks and lunch boxes. Lily Claire decided that she would like to have a set like that. She got some back to school money from her Grandpa and we agreed that we would spend it on a new backpack and lunch box set. The nearest Pottery Barn Kids is about 35 minutes away from our house, if there isn't traffic. I would like to have been the parent who was prepared weeks ago for the first day of school, and for the most part, I was, but since money doesn't grow on trees, and we just got the gift from her Grandpa, we hadn't had a chance to buy a new backpack until yesterday, the day before school. So, off to Roseville we went in search of the set from Pottery Barn Kids.
As soon as we arrived at the mall the kids were hungry, so we stopped for lunch, since shopping on an empty stomach is not fun. When we finally made it to the store, we were met with a huge display of school bags. There were grey ones with poodles {LOVE} and purple unicorns, grey and pink butterflies, flowers, but the one set that she really wanted was not there. Lily Claire has the saddest sad face. I would like to say, that I've become immune to it, and in certain cases that would be true, but this time I felt bad. The fact that I didn't have the money to order one weeks ago, made me feel awful.
I got down at eye level, I find that helps kids feel equal to you, and explained to her that she had a few options. We could order the one she wanted, but it would take up to 6 weeks to arrive, we could pick out one in stock, or we could try the Disney Store and see what they had.
She decided she would like to try the Disney Store, so that is what we did. The Disney Store had a small variety of princess backpacks. Lily Claire quietly walked through the displays and said nothing. I asked if she had found one she liked and she said the Aurora backpack would be okay, but that she would really like the lunchbox from PBK. That sounded like a great idea to me, so, I took it up to the counter to pay for it. Then, off we went back to PBK to get the navy butterfly lunch box. She also picked out a cold pack. I paid for it thinking to myself, wow, we did it, we're set. Wrong. We didn't make it to the door before the sad face was back and tears were streaming. She'd changed her mind and really wanted a matching set. So, she picked out the navy blue butterfly backpack, which matches the lunch box, and was only available in a large, and I went back to the register and paid for it.
At this point, Ella, who is 2, was starting to get a little tired of all the backpack mumbo jumbo. I promised her a treat if we could just make it back to the Disney Store to return the Aurora bag which we no longer needed. I stood in line while the girls watched Frozen on the big screen at the store, and finally made it up to the counter, and explained to the clerk why I was making the return. She smiled and kindly, and returned my money with no issue. I turned my back to the girls for a split second so I could sign the receipt, then turn back to the girls and find Ella with her dress off attempting to dress herself in an Ariel t-shirt she spotted on a display. Wow. I rush over and explain that we don't own the shirt and that she needs to put her dress back on.
Well, as a parent you know your kids and you can see a tantrum boiling. Let's just say, I was sparing the entire population of the mall when I marched back up to the cash register, and had the clerk scan my kid, in the shirt we were REQUIRED to purchase. Really, we parked upper level and across the entire mall. That's a long way to haul a screaming toddler and I just didn't have the energy.
The first day of school was a success! That smile makes the ordeal yesterday worth it!
And there you have it, the PERFECT backpack!
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