Costco

Today I conquered one of my worst fears...

 

I went to Costco alone, with two kids.  

 

I have never been to Costco alone, either we all go together or Richard and Marshall make an outing of it, which they both love.  The thought of walking into that massive place without Richard intimidates me, which is why I have never gone without him. 

As the week wore on and we kept getting closer and closer to running out of toilet paper, Kleenex, diapers, and other things that we only buy at Costco I knew I would have to make this excursion by myself today because Richard is working.  I was not looking forward to it, especially knowing that I would have two kids with me.  Back in the summer I banned Marshall and Bridget from being in the store together for more than 15 minutes.

As I knew my dreaded Costco trip was drawing nearer I kept thinking about my dad who LOVES Costco.  My dad absolutely hates shopping, it has been known to stress him out so badly that he has come home and almost eaten through an entire pie.  Now if you know my dad and his very healthy eating habits this is hard to believe, but its true, there are witnesses.  Despite my dad's great disdain for stores and shopping he adores Costco.  The first time he shopped there, years ago, he spent $1000.  Yikes.  Granted my parents had five kids living at home at the time and four were boys, so this could be validated...maybe.  

This morning I bundled all of us up at 9:30 and we were out the door.  Within minutes of walking into Costco Marshall said, "Look at me."  I looked at him and saw a huge smile on his face.  I asked him if he was happy and he replied, "I'm smiling because I'm at Costco!"  He made me laugh out loud.

After making our way through just a few isles Marshall had finished the bag of pretzels I had given him to snack on.  He informed me that he was still hungry and I apologized for not bringing more food.  His immediate response was, "Did you know there are people here who give you free samples of food?"  Again, he made me laugh out loud.  Apparently he and Richard sample everything on their Saturday outings, which we proceeded to do.  Shy Marshall astounded me this morning as he asked every worker for their sample and thanked them after they gave him his desired food item.  This kid ate everything he was given, even things I was sure he would spit out.  He should eat all of his meals at Costco.  

Our shopping trip ended 90 minutes later and all three of us had smiles on our faces and full stomachs.  Not only had I survived my first solo Costco trip, but I had loved it.  Just being there makes me want to have seven kids so we can shop there on a weekly basis.  I also want Richard to make a lot more money so we can buy everything we sample.  

I think these monthly Costco runs may turn into an entire family outing.