The Chair

I’ve shared pictures of Caitlin’s little blue chair, but not the story behind the chair. The Irishman and I laugh every time we think of it.

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Once upon a time there was a little girl named Caitlin who loved to go shopping with her Mommy and Daddy. This little girl would sit happily in the cart and all the other shoppers would admire how cute she looked.

Then suddenly one day this little girl became a toddler. Little Caitlin decided that the cart she’d always loved was holding her back and she demanded freedom politely begged to be set free. Ironically, once free the first thing she saw was indeed a shopping cart.

Caitlin LOVED the shopping cart. She pushed it up the aisles.

She pushed it down the aisles.

She tried to talk her parents into taking home TWO of the things.

When Mommy and Daddy said no, it got messy. The other shoppers stared as Caitlin protested. The family quickly walked out of the store without buying anything. Mommy and Daddy tried to remember to write down, “First full toddler tantrum” in the baby book.

After this, Mommy and Daddy began to avoid shopping trips with Caitlin. Grocery shopping was now done during naptime. Sometimes though it cannot be avoided. Sometimes they forget.

After Mass a couple of weeks later,  the family needed to pick up a couple of things from another large discount store. They did not have any carts at the entrance they went in, so Caitlin had a chance to look around while Daddy went off to get a cart. This is what she found.

Now Daddy is wrapped around her little finger and when he saw this scene he said she could pick one toy. After much deliberation, they decided on the chair. Daddy put the chair in the back of the shopping cart as Mommy tried to strap Caitlin into the front of the shopping cart.

It was a disaster.

Caitlin fussed and cried and tried to get into the basket with her beloved blue chair.

Mommy got frustrated.

Mommy took the chair out and put it on the floor.

She took Caitlin out of the cart and put her in the chair.

Then Mommy went off to finish her shopping.

Much to everyone’s surprise, Caitlin decided to join her.

Oh, the stares they got because of the chair!

(Or maybe it had something to do with the fact that Daddy was following behind videoing the whole thing!) Mommy and Daddy started to think maybe they should have just said yes to the shopping cart after all!

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In the end the blue chair did come home with the family where it has been much loved and found a second life….as a chair!