The beginning of the end...

I had my first shift last night at the toy store. I will probably have to add parenting articles and news updates to my daily reading so that I am more knowledgeable on products we have for babies…like the annoying squeaky shoes that toddlers are wearing is actually to help kids learn how to walk heel to toe. The squeak acts as a positive reinforcement I guess…. I question how this product came about. Was there an influx of children walking toe to heel that such a product had to be fabricated? Did the morning marketing meeting have to come up with ways to sell the most annoying shoe on Earth that gives children (and possibly dogs) great enjoyment and decided to come up with the “proper walking technique” campaign? And how did my generation or the generations before me learn to walk properly without a squeaker to reassure us?
There are actually a lot of baby products out there that makes me question if today’s parents may be open to my suggestion of just bubble-wrapping your child before you send him out into the world. We sell soothers that are spring loaded so that they close if the baby spits it out…no germs from the floor. I am pretty sure my mom would just rinse mine under the tap…maybe. And of course organic cotton clothes and toys so that no chemicals seep into baby’s pores. Fair enough, but again…we didn’t have organic cotton and nothing happened to me. I wonder when I have children if I will care more about stuff like that. Probably not, I mean I will want my child to be safe, but I think there is a reason a child comes out of the protective womb and one needs to let life happen without worrying about stainless steel water bottles, organic diapers, and proper walking techniques. But maybe I will change my mind.
The job seems fun though, and there are lots of neat toys. A very cool turtle that has the celestial pattern cut out in his shell. You can turn on a light inside of him, and your ceiling is transformed into the night sky. Very cool and even more appropriate for parents who are afraid to let their children outside! There are lots of beautiful gift ideas, except for this journal that comes with a case to collect your child’s baby teeth. I understand saving the first one. But to save all of them is kind of creepy. Seems like some sort of underground ivory-trade operation.
I survived my first long day, made some extra money, and feel a little bit more liberated. I am taking control and planting that seed of a dream. I hope it grows into a beautiful, strong tree of reality.