Full Circle

Tonight I've come full circle as a parent.  The whole family went to the new Wal Mart near our house to pick up some groceries while there we stopped by the toy department.  While there Mom spotted the present she wanted to get for Alyce's birthday, a pink castle.  Before Alyce could see what Mom was looking at I took her down an isle so she wouldn't see it.  The next time we saw Mom there was a box in the cart covered by a jacket.  We finished our shopping putting other items in the cart and Alyce didn't have a clue that her birthday present was mere feet away.  When it was time to pay I took Alyce out to the car while Mom finished paying and loaded up the car.

When I was kid my parents would do the same for my brother and I.  We would be at Target, point something out to our parents, and then they would tell us to take a walk while they bought it and put it in the car.  As kids, like Alyce, we didn't know what was going on.  Later in life we knew what was going on but the fact that my parents still went to the effort showed that they cared.  Now here I am, full circle, a parent, and doing the same thing for my kid that my parents did for me.