As this was a holiday weekend, everyone in our home had a 3
day weekend. The teen, he got even more,
as he got a “hurricane day” on Thursday (his school, in the next county, was
actually open, but I kept him home, the schools in ours were closed), and
Friday was a scheduled day off for a Teacher Work Day. On Saturday, my husband asked the teen if
there was anything he’d like to do, anywhere he’d like to go this weekend. Nope, nothing.
You’ve got to know what to ask. I asked him yesterday if he’d like to go to
Disney Springs, as I knew he was intrigued about a new store there, Trophy
Room, affiliated with Michael Jordan. He
said yes, as long as he could “relax” on Sunday. Relax? I’m not sure I’ve seen him leave his
room since Wednesday after school, but at least he agreed to put on shoes and
leave the confines or our property for a while.
We are Disney passholders, I can’t even count how many times
we’ve been there over the years. Today,
however, I was a bit amused by the differences between when my son was younger
and now.
At 5 years old, he would be awake at sunrise, ready to go. At the parks, we HAD to wait in line to see Mickey, and even more importantly, Minnie and Daisy Duck, and perhaps a princess or two. Every gift shop that had stuffed animals was a must do, and I’m pretty sure we never left without a new one. Ice cream and popcorn and candy called his name at every possible location. When at Disney Springs (which was then called Downtown Disney), we spent most of our time in the toy store, the pin store and carts, and the water fountains that the kids could run in. I’ve even had to buy him new expensive Disney clothes in one of the shops (hmm, perhaps that was his plan), because his wet clothes from the fountains he spent HOURS in would irritate him to the point of tears. When he got hungry, we’d get chicken nuggets for him at McDonalds. He spent the day saying “I love you” and hugging me because he was so happy.
Today, he had one goal, to go the Trophy Room. I had to wake him up at 9:30 this morning, and he slept in the car all the way there. Though he has a good bit of money still left
from Christmas and his birthday and for getting all “A’s”, he bought nothing
there. He wanted nothing to eat, and when I got lunch, which was a bigger
portion than I could eat, he wouldn’t even eat half (though he did eat my
entire side of homemade pickles). I
couldn’t tempt him with cupcakes or candy.
As far as McDonald’s, it’s no longer there, and that is alright as he
hasn’t eaten at McDonalds in years, because it is “not real food.” As we walked through the new part of Disney
Springs, with which we are not familiar, I asked him if he wanted to look at
the directory to find his store. He said
no, that I should just pick a direction, only for him to tell me 5 minutes
later that I picked the wrong one. He spent
our time telling me I was blind because I didn’t notice that there were a lot
of people in FSU shirts, and that I didn’t notice a selfie stick. He didn’t want to go in the toy store at all,
and about the time we reached that far, he asked if I was ready to go.
At least he still enjoyed smelling the soap with me in
Basin, and getting his free chocolate sample in Ghiradelli.
Kids grow up so fast, take advantage of every moment. That’s why they have wine.
*And I do know he still actually had a good time, because
when we got in the car to go back home, he said “I love you, Mom.” That is Aiden-code for “Thanks, I had fun.” That, and he was a little taken aback when I
told him when he and I go for an overnight at Disney next month, after I drop
him off at school in the morning, I’m going back to Disney Springs to do some
shopping while he’s in school. A mom
needs a little quiet shopping time sometimes, where she doesn’t have to worry
about what team’s jerseys people are wearing!*
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