Target's "Grand Opening" Experience

Target opened a new store in a nearby city, fairly near to where we live. We just happened to be over in that area (which, in Wisconsin, means that part of the county) on the very night of their grand opening. So, I thought... why not?

I only had one child with me, Nicolas - I thought I could handle him. And, I did - but, it was a narrow escape. Still - we did escape without bribery, extreme humiliation (vs. slight humiliation) or spending more than $4. ((They had fresh spinach for only 99 cents!)) I hafta wonder what it was rinsed with though...

Eating will never be the same. Ignorance was much tastier, but - extremely unhealthy. Hey - Pssst...Shouldn't I be skinny by now??

Whoa, I am all over the place in my thoughts today... Anyway, I am not going to go into detail about the chocolate truffles, soda, juices, energy drinks, trail mix, pizza, pre-packaged processed cheese and crackers or the cake with red Target symbols all over it. Nope.

I want to tell you about two wonderful ladies and our brief, but sweet experience with them. They weren't Target employees either, although all humans that were dressed in red were so very nice and friendly! It almost seemed like I was in a dream, really. Nice people dressed in red... scary! No - just kiddin'...

It might sound odd, but - it was just a really nice atmosphere - having everyone all on their best behaviors, smiling and so happy. A nice little live jazz band, free treats that we couldn't eat... Ya know - the more I keep thinking about it, the more odd it was. Why can't people be nice every day? Only on grand opening days?? ((sigh)) I am not used to people being nice. ARGH!

Back to the two very nice ladies. They were at Target to provide complimentary balloon animals and hand-sketched caricatures for the children. They were awesome! Their work? Yes, it was talent, absolutely! But - what affected me enough to blog about it, was their personalities and their ATTITUDES!


The young woman who did the balloon animals: dinosaurs, aliens, Easter bunnies, flowers, fishing poles, dogs, monkeys,and a T-Rex - - she did an extraordinary "job" entertaining us all, but - she was phenomenal in the way she interacted with the kids, especially our son - Nicolas. She handled it - she handled him. I wish you could have seen her - and I wish I could explain the way I wanted to cry... and hug that woman! She treated him like a regular kid. In fact, she acted as if she liked his little "oddities" - he asked a lot of questions, had specific comments and requests and left her wanting another balloon animal - one is never enough for him but - he left, with his great big eyes. I wish I could let her know how much this over-emotional-mom appreciated her, standing there for hours and hours, making kids happy. Not just my kid - but, all those kids. That saintly young woman's feet and fingers must have been killing her!

There was another woman there - who drew caricatures of the children. She was also impressive with her artsy drawing skills and patience with the kids. I asked her questions as she drew... and found out a whole lot in just a few minutes: she has one child in kindergarten, has been drawing all her life and has been doing caricatures for about 3 years. She works with/for the lady who was doing the balloons. And, she was sweet. Sweet kind voice, which made a nice impression on the boy who wants to be an artist who also invents robots!


I hope those two women have a wonderful and successful year with their business. In fact, I should let Target know just how positive our experience was with them. I let enough businesses know when I have an unpleasant experience; maybe it's time to give out the compliments! Ya think? (Nod head...)

Oh, by the way, I did sneak over to the free cake table and eat a piece of cake with red frosting. Red #40 has no apparent affect on me. In fact - it may have been just the medicine I needed to get through the night. Nick never found out, as he was at obsessing over some toy that I did not give in and get him. Not obsessing like you or I would, but - Nicolas obsessing. In the end, I did have to escort him out of the store - against his will, by holding his wrist. I knew it was time to go when he starting asking each and every red-shirt-wearing employee if they knew where the "free stick people cubes" were being given out. I guess in his mind, since they were handing out free treasures, Target would most certainly be handing out complimentary treasures like stick people cubes. In his obsessive mind, his switch was stuck. I couldn't get it to go back the other way, which is a technique I often use and even occasionally have success with; but, not that night. My reasoning was no match for his obsession and I think I hate stick cube people, which I hadn't even heard of until our trip to Target.

Clearly, I am alerted to my (shameful but not too embarrassing to admit) attitude, which hasn't self-adjusted yet... Wow - I hope I don't stay this way too long; it's been almost a week. Poor Hubs. Wait - he's not poor! See, I still have it... I do need an attitude adjustment.

I'd better lose the blogger-butt, get off the computer and get up and do something nice, like contact Target and let them know we had a delightful time with those two women from www.funnyfaces4kids.com. I could never be that nice for that long... well, they were getting paid I guess... it was their "job"... doesn't excuse it though! Those ladies rocked! I am calling Target right now!

I know I am not much for inter-active blogs, but - let's just try to improve my attitude. How about you compliment someone today and then leave the comment here. Go ahead, re-new my faith? Please??