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Blu-Ray Boy

On Mondays, after we drop Ane off at school in the morning, Tad and I usually run errands. It is so much easier with just one child. The other good thing about it is that when I have Tad by myself, I’ve begun to let him walk around certain stores by himself, instead of just putting him in the cart. I’m trying to encourage a little maturity and independence, as well as testing his listening skills.

Last Monday, we stopped in at Target. As I meandered through the soap and shampoo, Tad headed straight for the electronics section and the Blu-Ray display. At our local Target, the electronics section is right at the end of a main arterial aisle, next to the health and beauty section, and has a nice big TV which plays samples of Blu-Ray movies and shows the “advanced” difference between Blu-Ray and regular DVDs.

Tad is in LOVE with this display… because it plays little clips from Cars, Finding Nemo, and Ratatouille. He will just watch, barely breathing, with his eyes glued to that screen as long as I will let him. When he was in a cart, I could just push him away (albeit with a lot of crying once the display was out of sight). Now, though, he has to be led/bribed away (sometimes with crying and kicking and picking up and carrying).

We had some time, so I browsed in the baby aisle, doing some price comparisons, while Tad got his fill of Blu-Ray goodness. I was within 6 feet of him, so I could have easily grabbed him if necessary, but I wasn’t standing right next to him, either.

A Target employee came down the aisle – and stopped when she saw Tad, who she thought was alone. “Oh, is this little boy okay? Is he by himself?” she asked the guy at the electronics counter.

“No, I know who he is,” the electronics guy grinned. “He comes in here all the time with his mom -” he pointed at me – “and he loves watching the Blu-Ray. Once, I saw him in the cart, looking around his mom all the way to the other end of the store.”

Satisfied, the female employee walked away, while the electronics guy continued to get a kick of watching Tad watch the Blu-Ray.

And I thought, We come to this store WAY too much, if the employees know who Tad is!

I finally bribed Tad away from the Blu-Ray display. “Come on, bud, let’s go find some TOYS!”

He reluctantly left. No, we didn’t buy any toys. And no, we’re not buying a Blu-Ray set up anytime soon, either. Even if it does show Cars in all its high-definition glory. Tad is perfectly happy with the regular old DVD. He’s even carrying the case around right now (minus the DVD inside) as I write.

2 Responses to “Blu-Ray Boy”

  1. Doc
    March 7th, 2008 12:53
    1

    What is it with these second children and their DVD cases? At least you can get him to carry it around empty.

  2. Resiss
    March 7th, 2008 14:05
    2

    Tad’s a low-maintenance guy. Stick him in front of a TV and he’s happy, but good luck getting him to mow the lawn.