Whose Doll Is It Anyways??

I know, I know...so much for getting back to writing. I am happy to say that I finally am over being sick. But Hubs was home for a short rotation so it was fast and furious getting things done around here. And now he's gone again.

So this story is actually from two rotations ago.

For Christmas, Mouses big brother gave her an American Girl Store Gift Certificate. Since there is a store in Dallas, which is only about two hours away, and we have family there, Hubs decided he needed to take her so she could spend it.  She was foaming at the mouth and had a list ready.....that she had compiled while perusing the online store.

I can promise you that neither Hubs nor I was thrilled about this. Especially with the child that can spend an hour (not kidding) in Claire's. I have already had the privilege of going to this massively overcrowded and stupidly expensive store, and Hubs has zero interests in dolls.

But off we went.

First, Mouse wanted her new American Girl Doll to have her ears pierced.  Wait...what? Get a dolls ears pierced? And pay money for it??? Both parents are horrified at the thought....but it wasn't our money so we marched upstairs to get in line.

And I do mean line. Like we stood in it for 20 minutes just to get to the front to tell them what we wanted.  See, it was done in the beauty salon. Not a people beauty salon you understand..... a DOLL beauty salon. And the sign informed us that the wait (after you get to the front of the line) was currently at two hours.

No. Way.  We were going to have to wait two hours for this???? Thankfully we found out that all we had to do was make it to the front of the line and they would do ear piercing immediately. No wait beyond that.

There is a God.

As we stand in line for foreverrrrrrrrrrr, we start people watching. Not like there is anything else to do. While waiting to get a DOLL'S ears pierced. There were 5 ladies behind the counter working away. I had to wonder what it was like for this to be your employment. "So, what do you do?"  Not that I'm saying there is anything wrong with this, beats fast food for sure.

There are posters up all over with the prices of the hairstyles. Different dolls had different choices depending on the hair type they have.The ladies clean the hair, trim it back into shape and then style the do you payed for.  And do they pay. This starts at about $20.  I don't pay $20 for Mouses haircuts, so this was a shock to Hubs and my system.  Are you kidding me???

                                                                     Standing in line.

After 10 minutes Hubs began to squirm. You could see that dazed look enter his eye. The trapped animal panic.

So you can imagine the kids around us started doing the same thing. Kids and guys....about the same patience level, right?

A couple of people up we noticed a very nicely dressed mom and her beautiful daughter. The girl looked to be about 4.  Mom was pushing a stroller with all her shopping bags hanging off it (and we were at the Dallas Galleria folks) and it looked like the girl was her only child with her. I wondered if the child still used the stroller...she was kinda too old for that....or whether mom just still used it as a shopping cart. It is handy like that if you are a power shopper and haven't given the stroller away yet.  Or maybe there is a younger sibling somewhere.

Anyway- mom gets to the poster, holding TWO dolls and asks the daughter which hair-do's she wants.

And the child? Not the least bit interested.  She had the trapped animal, bored out of my skull look that Hubs was wearing.  She was being very well behaved about the whole thing while she stood there, but there was no interest. She wouldn't even give mom an answer....just a lazy shrug of the shoulders.

Mom looked a little distressed.  So she turned around and decided what to get.  And I'm watching this whole thing play out and realize they really aren't there for the child.  They are there cause mom is going to spend $40-50 to fix these dolls hair.  And its not like the hair was very bad off to begin with.

That really puzzles me.  Why does a grown woman want to spend that kind of money to fix doll hair.  Why is it important enough to stand in a line for 20 minutes to deposit the dolls, and then wait another two hours for them to be done? Even supposing she has more money than she knows what to do with.  Is she just a crazy adult doll lover? Is it somehow a status thing? Something the moms compare at play dates? I would have liked to know because I find most people have REASONS for what they do, even when it looks crazy to us.

Hubs is really getting antsy now. He starts asking if we are done after this. Nope. Mouse has a list and we already found out what she wanted was out of stock so she was going to have to shop. She admits that there is something else but she doesn't have enough money. Dad volunteers to help her out.

Hah! Note to kids: take dad and make him stand in a line for a long time. Its financially beneficial.

About that time the couple in front of us had issues.  Here we have a family that looks middle class. Dad is in work coveralls that look like a construction worker. Mom is rather over weight and so is daughter. Daughter looks to be 10-11ish. This family is obviously here for the daughter. Mom shows her the poster when we are close and asks which style the girl wants.  She proceeds to pick out a style that does not go with her dolls hair type. Mom points out which section to chose from. The child starts throwing a two year old fit. It was ugly. And they get her settled down in a bit. Not a single word of warning or reprimand.

You have got to be kidding. We would have removed our kid from line and left. Who rewards over the top ugliness in a child that age???? Just wow.

Finally we make it to the head of the line and the ears are pierced in about 2 minutes and we move down stairs to finish up the gift card. Dad is past his limit at this point and just pushing to find something so we can leave. And to make a long story short -- Mouse ends up with about $50 in extra merchandise just so dad can  escape!

Hysterical.

And brilliant.