Wal-mart

I spent most of my childhood in a small town in northern Oklahoma. We had one McDonald's and a J. C. Penneys, so when Wal-mart came to town, it was exciting. Soon after Wal-mart showed up, we got a Burger King and a new movie theater. Of course, I also remember that Wal-mart closed down a few of the general stores that had been around for years, but as a kid, all I cared about was the bright new store in town. As I got older, I cared more about the cheap prices at Wal-mart, but I also felt a certain nostalgia walking into a Wal-mart. I'd been in enough of them in the south that I could walk into just about any Wal-mart and know which way to go to get dish soap, contact solution, or a pillow. When I was a senior in high school I worked at our local Wal-mart over Christmas break, and even though I knew first hand what it was like to work at Wal-mart, I never really understood why some people didn't like Wal-mart. After all, it was so cheap!

Then we moved to Pasadena and far away from a Wal-mart. I could walk to Target, but had to drive thirty minutes to get to Wal-mart. So I started to shop at Target and by the time I left California, my loyalties had shifted. Now I dread going to Wal-mart and try to avoid it, but there are a few things I can only find there. So every few months I go to Wal-mart with my fingers crossed that whatever I need will actually be in stock and that I won't be stuck in a long line.

Last week, I ran out of Anna's hair elastics, so we went to Wal-mart. Clearly it made quite an impression on her. Sunday after Church, she found my reusable grocery bags and was pretending to go shopping. Then she put one of the bags on her head and I asked, "Oh, did you buy an Anna?"

"No, Mom. I shop at Wal-mart." Ok, funny that she's never mentioned shopping at Target.

Yesterday, we were driving on the freeway when Anna suddenly yelled, "Look Mom! Look! Wal-mart!" Sure enough, there was a Wal-mart. She hasn't even learned to identify the golden arches yet, but for some reason, she can recognize Wal-mart. That kid cracks me up.

On another note, at lunch yesterday Anna was playing with one of the many Snoopy dolls we own. She said, "Mom, I need my knife," pointing to the butter knife she had used to spread peanut butter on her sandwich. When I asked why she said, "So I can kill Snoopy." Wondering what she meant by that, I gave her the knife and then she poked him in the stomach with it.

"Why do you want to kill Snoopy?" I asked her, not sure if I should laugh or be horrified.

"So I can eat him for lunch." Needless to say, I took the knife away from her but more because I was worried about her getting peanut butter on Snoopy. What a funny kid.