So in order to get out of the house this weekend, I decided to take B to the mall for the morning.  I had absolutely nothing in mind to buy…I just wanted to walk around a couple of times and get at least a bit of exercise.

So we bundled up and off we went.

Heading out to the mall

Now once there, I quickly realized that I had forgotten B’s stroller at home.  Dang-it.  Now I’d have to pop him into a shopping cart.  Oh well…better than sitting at home, right?

No so fast Quickie McQuickerson…the carts can only go in and out of certain doors in the mall.  For example, the carts from Sobeys and Wal-Mart can only go in and out of their main front entrance (i.e. not in through the mall).  When I realized that I was about to make my exit when a friendly worker at Sobeys informed me that you could get children’s carts down at the information kiosk.

I made my way down there half-expecting to be charged a rental fee.  Fortunately, I found out that all they needed was a piece of ID and the promise to return it upon completion.  Seemed fair enough.  And it actually seemed to fit B perfectly:

LIKE A GLOVE!!

So as B and I casually walked around the mall a couple of times, a few thoughts popped into my mind:

• OH MY F*CKING GOD I’M OLD!!  Ahem…sorry about that.  Just had to rant on the obvious.  What I notice is that almost every shop is geared towards the 12-25 year old set…which, unfortunately, I am not a part of anymore.  When you see shop after shop after shop full of clothes and other items that you are at least 10 years too old to ever consider wearing, it becomes a bit disheartening after awhile.
• THANK GOD I’M NOT THAT OLD!!  All I had to do was walk around the food court and quickly realize that the mall wasn’t completely about the young…just the young-at-heart, apparently.  At least I’ll know where to go once I’ve retired.
• OMG I’m broke.  Flat broke.  I mean, I’m looking around at all the things that I’d love to have and I can’t afford any of them.  But then I just look down at the smiling face of B and none of it matters.  In fact, he was having more fun than I was leaning over the front of his cart to get a better view of things.

Daddy...don't bother me...just push the dang cart.

• I’m not the only one feeling the financial pinch.  It was quite sad to see blank wall after blank wall throughout the entire building.  Closed business after closed business.  It’s a shame…it had only been a couple of months since my last visit and I could see the visible difference throughout the mall.  Wow…the economic times are blatently apparent.
• My clothes aren’t tight enough.  Regardless of whether or not I should be showing off my figure, it appears that “tight is in”…which seems a bit odd to me.

Once we got back from the mall and had some lunch, Ben decided to do a bit of coloring before taking his nap.  Just one more thing that brings a smile to my face…