Mindy and Recliners

A funny Mindy story

Mindy loves to ride the train at the local mall. When I arrive at the house to pick her up she usually greats me with the words "Chooo Choooooo! in her high desperate voice. I repeat the words to let her know we are going to the train. Ocassionally I will include her sign for the train and pump my fist like I'm pulling a train whistle. Otherwise I let her know we are going to one of other favorite activities like sailing or roller skating at the beach.

Over the holidays we had to park in a different spot due to the increased traffic. Change is never good with Mindy. We entered through an unfamiliar door leading to a major department store. She seemed eager to lead. I figured her mother must have entered through this door before. Mindy can remember how to get to the train, like a homing pigeon.

So I casually followed as she pulled my hand. Before I knew it we had boarded the up escalators to the third floor. After stepping off, Mindy led me in the general direction of the train. Then Mindy spotted the furniture section. She has always had a thing for recliners. She is intrigued by the way they lay back and the foot rest pops out. She has a combination of fear and intrigue. For years she would place her stuffed animals on any recliner to see if it would be swallowed up.

She immediately let go of my hand and proceeded to sit down in every recliner on display. Then she tried out some couches, then sat on a stack of area rugs, then back to the recliners.

After a while, I felt we had worn out our welcome at the furniture display. It took about ten more minutes to encourage her to finally leave. I have seen kids less excited at Disneyland.