Build-a-bear in 8 short hours
I survived Build-A-Bear's Pay Your Age Sale.
If anyone finds that on a t-shirt, let me know. I need one.
Me + 3 kids (ages 7, 4, and 2) X 8 hours. Yes, the math is correct. We stood in line for EIGHT HOURS.
I can't believe I'm even typing this. What person does such a thing? Not me. This is 110% outside my comfort level. I'm not even a fan of stuffed animals. Every time my kid receives one as a gift, I cringe inside. They are pointless, dust-collecting clutter. My kid bonds to them for about three days, then they end up in a toy bin untouched for months. But if I'm caught donating them, I'll get a visceral reaction equal to a hoarder parting with an empty pizza box.
So why did I do it? First off, I had NO IDEA the line would be that long. (Social media - I blame you.) We decided to stick around 30 minutes just to see how fast the line moved. After a half hour, I was sure they'd beg to go home. We could grab cookies and leave all those fools behind. I was dead wrong.
My girls wanted to stay, like stay-stay. My poor son, who had no clue what was happening, only agreed because he likes to side with them. I blame myself. I've avoided BAB like the plague. This created a super-will too strong to crack. And we were surrounded by other strong-willed children. The mother behind us begged her son to go to Chuck E Cheese. That's utter desperation. Her son said No.
The weird thing - my kids weren't that excited about the bear. They barely (pun intended) mentioned the end goal. I honestly believe they enjoyed the show. My middle child thrives around people and chaos, my oldest is curious, and my baby is too sweet for his own good. I was outnumbered.
Lunch-time hit. Thankfully my husband works across the street. He brought us food and a much-needed bathroom break. From then on, I rationed their water like we were lost in the Sahara Desert.
All this sounds really terrible, and it was. It became 100% worse INSIDE the store. Yep. You wait six hours to pick out your bear, and then it's another TWO hours to get it stuffed and pay. Insanity.
But it wasn't all bad. If you look for it, you'll find redemption in everything you do. Here are a few from our 8 hours:
My kids waited in line for 8 hours. That's seriously impressive. Halfway in, I was 100% on board, too, simply because their determination rubbed off on me. My kids inspired me with their patience. What? Is that even possible?!
We made bonds with the families around us. My kids had a great time playing with the other kids. We had a singular focus, lots of time to talk, and were on a crazy journey together.
I didn't witness any ugly behavior from the parents. I assumed at least one parent would throw a punch. Not to say it didn't happen somewhere, but not near me.
I saw one tantrum. ONE in EIGHT hours. Let that soak in. My kids have multiple tantrums a day at home. One kid, out of hundreds, threw a fit, and she was in line to pay. Honestly, I wanted to throw a fit at that point too.
So for me, today was a win. Would I do it again? NO WAY.
(Originally published in 2018)