So, I tried not to embarrass myself...

Gee, with a title like that, I'll bet you're expecting a good story. Well, I don't know if it will be nearly as "entertaining" as one might expect, but I'll share it nonetheless. Partly because it's my blog and I can write about whatever I want (right?), and partly becaues I desperately need validation that I am not, indeed, ahem, crazy. (Or confirmation that I am, whichever you deem most appropriate.)

I must preface this story with a story. You should really know that this is the norm for my story telling. I usually find it necessary to present my captive audience (voluntary or otherwise) with as much background information as possible. I do this in an attempt to make the details of the current story as comprehendable as possible, not to lengthen the story itself (contrary to popular belief). If I didn't think the listener (or reader, in this case) needed said details, I would have left them out. But, I digress...

As families go, mine was quite small. While I was born having all four grandparents as well as six great-grandparents living, my general "extended" family was small. My father was an only child, and my mother had one older sister. Oh, how my aunt adored me (and my brother). It was just like having a second mom, as she had no children. We spent countless hours with her each summer, as well as several weekends throughout the year. Every Sunday, we gathered with my aunt and uncle at my grandmother's house for lunch after church.

I won't deny that she spoiled us, and we even had a few toys to leave at her house to play with when we visited. Not a lot--just a few. My "big" toy at her house (though I much preferred to try on her shoes and play with her purses) was this Barbie doll:

Now, I find myself becoming that aunt.  The one without children of her own, but a  nephew and nieces whom she simply adores.  While mine usually prefer to play with our W.i.i. or bring their own toys, I do keep crayons and coloring books in the house.  We also have a big ball to play with outside, but today I was out for a bit of shopping (because I had a coupon for Koh.l's and couldn't bear to listen to the banging of the construction any longer), and I found this on sale:

I know her outfit has been given a "facelift," but it's practially the same doll!  Mind you, I had seen it before, and I knew it was being reintroduced due to the new Toy St.ory movie, but it just struck me when I saw it today: I should buy this doll for my nieces to play with at our house.  And after sobbing uncontrollably for 5 minutes in the toy aisle at Koh.l's, that's exactly what I did.  (And for a very good price, I might add.)  That's where the embarrassing part came in.  There had been no carts available (of course) when I arrived.  That was okay.  I really wasn't planning on buying too much.  After all, I had a couple of things specifically to look for, and then I was supposed to take J some lunch.  No problem.  In, out, done.  Simple, right? 

Wrong!  I really should know by now that not much is simples these days.  I decided that J might need some new swim trunks, since he has lost so much weight.  I bought him a new pair at the end of last season, but I really think they're still a bit too big.  They'll do, but I thought he might like a pair that actually fits.  I found a pair fairly quickly, but then I saw that they had some shirts on sale for $8.99.  What a deal!  (Plus, I had a 15% off coupon to use.)  I snatched up three colors I thought J would like and decided to check out the kids' shorts.  Abbey's birthday is coming up, and I have pretty much finished shopping for it, but I did need a pair of yellow shorts to go with a little shirt I caught on sale earlier in the year.  (Okay, it was last fall...I'm an early shopper, what can I say?  I can't resist a good bargain!)  While I didn't find any yellow shorts, I did discover that kids shorts and shirts were on sale for 67%  off.  Wow!  Never mind the yellow shorts, she can just have an extra shirt!  I bought her a new outfit, and I picked up an outfit for Ashton and Torre as well.  It's not like I wouldn't have anyway--we always get them a back-to-school outfit so they have something to open for Abbey's birthday, too.  That's when I saw the doll.  On sale.  For $10.  (Plus an extra 15% off, remember?)  And for some reason, even though I had seen it before in its Toy Story 3 box, even made the comment that it was just like the one I used to play with at my aunt's house, it all just hit me right then and there.  What if I never have children, either?  What if the only kids I ever get to buy toys for are the ones I only get to see if it's convenient for their parents?  I dropped everything I had been carrying and could NOT stop the tears.  People were probably staring at me, but I couldn't help it.  This very nice older lady came over and started picking up my armload of clothes and asked if I was alright.  Yes, I told her.  (Liar.)  Thank you. 

As soon as I had regained my composure, I chose a doll from the shelf--the one with the most perfect-looking hair and whose box was not bent or torn, and definitely not the one in front (another quirk I inherited from my aunt), and headed for the checkout counter.  Will my nieces play with it?  Probably.  Will I freak out the first time one of them pulls her head off?  Probably.  Will they ever understand the significance of that doll or how special it is to me to have it here for them?  Probably not.  Does that lady at Koh.l's think I've lost my ever-loving mind?  Most definitely!  But that's okay.  If I can live my life so that other people think I'm as terrific as my dearly-departed aunt thought I was, then I'll be doing alright. 

Hugs and baby dust,