My mom was here visiting a few weeks ago. You know how it is when parents visit, (particularly moms), you try to do things you've been putting off for a while. So off we went to Target, looking for doll clothes. Justice's one doll has been naked since it was gifted to us a few months ago. Naturally, we went to the toy section and strolled down the pink isles. Except nothing about this was natural for us. With Justice sitting in the front of the cart, I quickly and rather abruptly realized she had not traveled down the toy isles before. Several "oooh!" and "Oh! I like that!" exclamations came from her lips. Then a bright yellow cash register caught her eye. She called it a computer, and for the rest of our shopping trip through Target (we get some groceries there) she repeatedly whined, "I need the computer!"
Thankfully, grandma did NOT cave and buy her the "computer!" In sharing this experience with Eric, I started to realize how overloaded Justice must have felt. For a girl who had never been in a toy isle - especially a bright pink and sparkly isle aimed directly at girls - and a girl who doesn't have TV, and therefore has never seen a toy commercial, her brain was processing a lot. Now don't get me wrong, the girl has toys. We have been unsuccessful at limiting the grandparents gift giving... and that's only half of it! Every family member sends a gift, and we have been quite fortunate to have a sending church in Nashville that has "adopted" our kids in many ways. But if Eric or I are going to buy Justice a toy, we have a different approach. First, we know what we're looking for. And second, it's almost never new (second hand store, craigslist, friends, etc.). For example, right now we have 3 things on our "Justice radar;" construction trucks, trains, and clothes for a dress-up box. None of these are urgent (are toys ever urgent?), so we'll just keep our eyes out for something that might work.
Yesterday I was at Target again, and a different section of the store caught my attention. Easter. Thankfully, my mom-filter was working. My first observation was that 90% of this multi-isle section of the store is designated for candy, (the remaining 10% is decorations). So I walked right past it. Now, I love a good chocolate bar, but really? Obviously, I don't want my child begging for candy during the rest of the trip. But on a deeper level, I would prefer that CANDY is not her first association with EASTER. And while we're on the topic, I'd also prefer she not think of EGGS.
I like Target, and this really has very little to do with the store. I will continue to shop there. It has way more to do with intentional parenting. We're in the season of Lent - building up to Easter. It's all around us. So what DO I want to focus on? Sure, we'll do crafts and read books. We will talk about Jesus and the resurrection. We will do the best we can to communicate the meaning of Easter to our 2 year old.
What I don't know is how we will celebrate on Easter Sunday. We are at the ground level for building traditions in our little family. Will we have easter baskets? A special breakfast? Some symbol, or card, or picture representation? I don't know! What I do know is this: we put a significant amount of thought into the toys our children have. I certainly hope we put more thought into how we plan to celebrate our risen Lord.
Any suggestions?
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