Was this fun when you were a kid?

Dear Jack,

I have no idea what other people remember from their own childhoods. Your dad has an unusually limited memory of his own and I think I may have a sharper memory than most.

I wonder this because I distinctly remember doing some sort of furniture shopping with my parents and I remember that the store had all of these rooms set up and all I wanted was for my parents to leave me and my sister alone so we could play house in all of these rooms. Sadly, my parents had this shopping plan and had to drag us along to the next part of the store and never thought to bring us back to play.

Do other people not remember how fun it is to be a kid and play in furniture stores? Or is that other people never thought that was fun in the first place?

Either way, I thought it was fun and I remember, so I consider taking you and your sister to IKEA to be an outing. And the two of you did have a lot of fun. You walked around a lot and touched all of the fabrics and textiles. You enjoyed sitting on the beds and chairs.

While you were sitting on this bed, I realized how appealing the colors were and since the twin bed in your room is still made up with the bedding I chose for your sister, I decided to buy this duvet cover for you.

In the kids' IKEA section, the rainbow doorway leads to Swedish lands of toys and brilliant colors.

OOOOOOOH!
I was so glad to get a picture of you making the "ooooooh" face because it is your new happy face. Most people associate a smile with happiness, so I want all of your friends and family to know that for right now, this is the face to look for. This is the face that says, "I like what I see."

You made it a lot at IKEA, so I know you approve of today's outing.

And that's all that really matters to me.

Love,
Mom