Monday, June 9, 2008

Can it be a visionquest if it's in search of a sandbox?

It sounds easy enough - the boy must have a sandbox! Shouldn't every store carry sandboxes and be as excited as I am about ensuring that the boy gets one, and speedy fast-like? Um - sadly, no. This was a two-day venture.

I loved my sandbox when I was a kid. My dad built it (as he did most things), and it was perfect! We - I and all the neighborhood kids I grew up with in Chicago - played in it for years and years. I've been determined that Aidan would have one, too. Saturday morning, as soon as the stores opened, he and I started our quest. We went to store #1, we found LOTS of perfect sandbox and pool (we're getting a membership to the community pool this summer!) toys, and we had to get most of them. We found a giant bouncy ball. Not one sandbox. Well, there was one, but it was outrageously priced. No fear - we had several other options. By the time we had exhausted those, however, it was lunchtime. Nobody likes a hungry Aidan, though to be fair he gets it from me - nobody likes a hungry Mommy, either. Thwarted!

Sunday morning I started out alone, no less determined. I had searched online and found what I was looking for - a selection of about five different sandboxes! I got to Store #5, where I never go, and it was humongous. Ginormous! Searched and searched for a sandbox, an associate, really anything that would help me in my quest to no avail. I did get sent back and forth from end to end of the store a couple of times, though, which was great.

Finally, the in garden section I found a very helpful gentleman. He told me that "almost no one works here on the weekends anymore." Why would a ginormous retail store scale back its staff on weekends when more customers are there? I don't know. Anyway, just as he and I both were about to give up, I spotted the one sandbox they had left. One type, one sandbox. No problem - one's all I needed! Loaded up a more sand than a gal should have to haul around on a ridiculously hot day, and back home to put it all together.

Luckily, realizing the quest was very easy once all the pieces were in place. No assembly needed, just a little more hauling around of sand on the same ridiculously hot day. Got the whole thing ready to go, toys and all, and wouldn't you know the boy was napping? After about a year and a half of waiting for him to wake up, or maybe half an hour - not sure which, I got to strip him down to his diaper, lather him up with sunscreen and take him out there. I tell you, the whole, hot, two-day affair was worth every second. He loves it! Climbed right in and started exploring. Very handy that the mud room, I mean kitchen sink, is close to the back door - I can just hose him off with the sink's sprayer, and no sand all over tarnation. Everybody's a winner!

2 comments:

Susan said...

I got Lucy and Studley a sandbox two years ago at the end of the season on clearance. They've never used it because we haven't procured a critical piece of the puzzle. Given where we live, can you imagine what that might be? Hmmm? Something we might not want to buy since it's EVERYWHERE?

We are loser parents.

Ambley said...

That is hilarious! I believe that I paid a total of less than $15 for that particular item. Probably that's more than the gas it would cost to load up buckets in your car from a nearby "supply outlet," though you may have to incur loss of sleep by middle-of-the-night procurement. :)