Mall Rite of Passage

It was bound to happen sooner or later, but I’m still attempting to recover from my day with the lovely Madelyn Simone, our precious four-year-old granddaughter, the light of my life. Our day started out in typical fashion, with cuddles, kisses and sugar donuts. Although our early months were marked by too many episodes of “Say Yes to the Dress,” I’m determined to refrain from television viewing while we’re together, so we sorted and counted the money in her piggy bank, read a book about Easter eggs, and played a few hands of “Go Fish.” I was beaten fair and square in the first four rounds of that card game. No way am I introducing her to Monopoly.

The freezing rain that had kept us indoors for the morning began to let up, and so we decided to go out for a few hours. She nixed a visit to Sam’s Club, which surprised me as we both enjoy scoping out the free samples. I said no to a trip to the fast food restaurant with an indoor playground, as we made that visit the last time I was in Canton.

“How about the mall?” I’m not sure which one of us made the suggestion, but it seemed like a reasonable choice on a chilly day, so off we went. Since we weren’t quite ready for lunch, our first stop was the family lounge just off the food court. With its comfy chairs for nursing mothers and a selection of free video activities for the little ones, it’s the perfect oasis when faced with retail overload. After checking out the family restroom with its matching adult and child toilets (automatic flush, not Madelyn’s preference), we went to explore the rest of the mall.

There is so much to see and do when you’re four years old. We looked at the Disney charms at the Pandora store, enjoyed a free sample from the pretzel stand, and nibbled on caramel corn from the popcorn shop. We wandered through the store where you can create your own teddy bear, managing to escape its enticing call with the reminder that we needed to save our money for vacation. We also had fun trying out the various testers at the store overflowing with lotion, soaps and hand sanitizers.

I was ready for lunch, but Madelyn spied a store that specialized in girl’s clothing. She’d been to one of them with Becky, Unkie Dan’s girlfriend, when we’d taken Becky home to Columbus, and she remembered it well (of course). And there, in front of my eyes, this sweet little child morphed into a girl who could have been on the cusp of adolescence. It was an absolutely frightening transformation. She had the full attention of one of the sales clerks, a very helpful and friendly young woman, and Madelyn took full advantage. She tried on a couple of sweaters, a skirt, and a fur vest from the clearance rack without any help from me, modeling them to the beat of the music pumping through the store.

After getting the requisite “you’re so cute” compliments, Madelyn proceeded to ask the clerk, “Do you have any dresses?” So there she was, strutting around the store with an adorable dress ($45), the white fur vest, and her pink glittery cowboy boots. If this is what the tween years are going to bring, we are in deep trouble.

I managed to escape the lure of that store with a $3 hat from the clearance rack (vacation is coming worked again!), but I was staggered by the rite of passage I’d just witnessed. Soon Madelyn will be five, and then seven, ten, fifteen. While I do agree with Doug Larson that few things are more satisfying than seeing your children have teenagers of their own, I’m more than willing to wait for that pleasure. “Childhood is a short season,” Helen Hayes reminds us, but I don’t want to do anything to speed up the arrival of the next season. I guess I better take “going to the mall” off our list or we’ll end up in Victoria’s Secret – no way am I ready for that adventure.