I Like the New Shopping Carts at Target

So I went to Target the other day. This was a fancy-pants Target. It had milk and bread. And the shopping cart was fantastic. It was the G6 of carts...sleek, red, cornered like it was on rails.

I was so, so happy. I was confidently, even self-importantly, making my way through the aisles when it hit me. I AM EXCITED OVER A SHOPPING CART??? All of a sudden, self-deprecating voices started shouting in my head. "You are so lame. You're jazzed over a shopping cart? Really? What have you become? Loser! Sellout!"

The voice stopped dead in my tracks. Right in the middle of the Easter decorations. Even the little yellow peeps were mocking me. They have beady little eyes.



After throwing a box of the peeps into my cart (I'll show them who's boss!), I reflected on the little outburst from within my sub-conscious. Do I really think I'm a sellout? A loser? No, I do not. But would my 20-year old, idealist self have recognized me? I'm not sure.

As I searched for the value packs of Bounty paper towels, I rolled over my life accomplishments. I have a loving and wonderful husband and family. My girlfriends are like sisters to me. I work in a very good job in a rewarding field. We rent a nice, little house. Paid off one car. No major debt. We throw Frisbee on the weekend. Cook dinner and dance together in the kitchen. Visit friends. Have a lazy Saturday every now and then.

And you know what? I like it. I'm content.

I like that I'm somewhere between being a 20-something with stars in her eyes and a real grown-up with a family of her own.

And dammit. I like the shopping carts at Target. On the way out of the store, I even put both feet up and rode it through the parking lot to my car.

I'm straddling 30. Enjoy the ride...