Ah!
Today I decided to be at least a bit SuperTrip productive. I went to Costco.
Since moving to Chicago, I have begun a love affair with Costco. The kind of torrid romance that I would have openly mocked in others in the past. I love the prices. I love the quality. I love that if it seems it's too "bulky" I can justify it by splitting it with someone or by realizing that it will just last forever. It hit me on vacation just how head over heels I had gotten. That's when I realized all my snacks, water bottles, Dove shampoo, Dove conditioner, and each of my 3 swimsuits had been acquired at the store in question, on separate occasions, no less! Every time someone asked me something, I responded with, "oh yeah, you can get that at Costco..." It was sad. I think the absolute worst was the day the doorman not only recognized me but told me! I had a cart full of stuff, some of which buried by other things, and added "I can move some of this" while handed him the receipt. The reply was chilling: "ah, don't worry about it. I know you. I've seen you in here." Yes, friends, that's what happens when you average 2 visits a week to a store. ugh. I didn't even have the boys with me that day. I was mortified. Though, upon reflection, I don't know why. I like that they know me. It's like I have my own Cheers. only instead of a friendly, neighborhood bar, I have a giant warehouse that carries all kinds of things I love at fantastic prices!
All this leads to today. Today we kind of had a free day after picking up the kindergartner. So where did my co-worker suggest going? You guessed it! Off to Costco, we went.
I was on the hunt for a tent. not just any tent. The $50-sleeps-4-tent I've been eyeing all summer. Turns out I should have stopped eyeing and started purchasing a few weeks ago. It was gone today. Replaced by a 2 ft tall, plush, light up Rudolph. ugh. If there's anything I hate more than not having something I want in a store, it's replacing it with tacky Christmas decorations 4 months before the event!
By this time, I had lost my co-nanny and the twins and was growing increasingly tired of hearing/answering "how much is this" as we passed every single (not exaggerating) item in the "tent" half of the store. Side note to other parents/caregivers out there: never tell a 5 year old that he can have anything in the store that cost $2 or less and then go into Costco. nothing is $2. except the churros, which was the point...the point, that he missed.
but I digress...
Once I found them again, I went to get the biggest pack of Ice Mountain money could buy. After I gathered enough strength to lug it back to where I had left everyone, they had disappeared again. ugh. Needless to say, I was not wearing my happy face. It was precisely at that moment that I realized that I could not buy things for the trip today. After water, what was there really left to buy that would last two weeks before the trip even started?!? Bread would mold, milk would curdle, and fruit would rot.
I continued my hunt shifting gears a bit. CDs. Ah ha! I knew I'd strike gold there. After all, isn't that where most of my family's Christmas gifts came from but a mere 8 months earlier? Well, sad to say, once I arrived on the scene, I remembered I had procured DVDs for my family, not CDs. Ugh. Strike gold? not unless you count books on tape. (Ma, are there any you want? They're just $8.99)
Not to be a quitter, I looked around for a new plan. I found my 5 year old trying to ride the 2 ft Rudolph! "AH! stupid reindeer! stop blinking your nose, it's September! The sun's out for Pete's sake! Ahhhhhhhhh......!!!!" (you should know, I didn't scream that audibly. better not to look too crazy in a Costco.)
While I collected my inner thoughts, I glanced at the time. Oops. We had been here longer than planned and I still only had water. My coworker, meanwhile, had filled her portion of the cart. As we walked by the sample ladies, I was getting desperate.
Then another idea hit me, "cereal." Of course, cereal. I remembered they had those perfect little individual cereal boxes. Everyone on the trip would be happy. I could be happy. A new cereal everyday. You don't really have to have milk for those. perfect. Except like the tent and the cds.... they were not there. egad! "That's it. Let's go home." I walked out of the aisle grabbing whatever I could get my hands on, knowing the entire time in my conscience brain that I will in fact be back. After all, Costco and I have a history.
(For those keeping track: I wound up with 36 bottles of Ice Mountain water, a jumbo amount of trail mix, and the world's largest bag of dried prunes. Oh, yeah, look out, world, I'm ready for anything...)
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