David Feels a Little Mall-ancholy

I like going to the mall. I like shopping. When I was young, I used to like shopping with my mom and sisters. Now, when I'm less young, I like shopping with my wife and my daughters. I like helping them with their shopping, and I like shopping for myself.

I always thought my dad was weird because he never liked going to the mall as much as I did. Then, when I got older, I thought my male friends were weird because they hated the mall. Then my male work colleagues were that way too. And my brother-in-laws. And then one day when I was at the mall I took a look around and - lo and behold - most of the men who were there didn't seem to be happy about it.

And that's when I realized that the vast majority of men are weird and don't like the mall. Huh.

If I hadn't logged the hours and hours of mall time with my mom, sisters, wife and daughters, I'd have missed so much great stuff. Oh sure, we'd still have the times we spent shooting hoops on the driveway, or passing the day on the dock waiting for the fish to start biting, or the early morning hockey games warming our hands around a cup of Tim's, ... but what of the mall times?

Some of my favourite scenes from the mall:

• Walking across what's now the DVP, and what was then a muddy field, to get to the brand new Fairview Mall - where a mountain covered in diamonds awaited. My mom eagerly buying us a glass of coke as a special treat on every trip.
• And, those times when my Dad was along for the ride, leading us through ridiculous games that made shopping even more fun (like "pricetag bingo").
• My wife spontaneously breaking into hormone-induced tears when she was 9-months pregnant with our first and found out that the sale on the very important baby item we were trying to buy didn't start until (what was then) tomorrow.
• The many, many hours we spent shopping for the girls' clothes, accessories, toys, school supplies, ... and talking about why each item was important to them and how they'd use it. Then patiently waiting while they tried things on and waited for Dad's judgement on how it looked.
• Sitting in a mall restaurant after an afternoon of shopping and telling my two older daughters that we were expecting a third. And the unabashed joy of the moments that followed.
• And the one constant from every mall and every time...the wishing fountain. My Mom reaching into her change purse to give us pennies so we could make our wishes. My older daughters as little girls using my hard-earned change to make their wishes. And this Saturday at the mall, my 3-year-old making her wishes too. (With one of her sisters home for the weekend and at the mall with us, her first wish was that the other sister could be here with her as well.)

I know I'm supposed to hate shopping and - in particular - hate the mall. I don't. It's been my personal experience that being a patient and attentive mall companion has been a big asset in my life-long pursuit of good brother / son / boyfriend / husband / father status. I might as well enjoy the enormous chunks of time I spend there. Right?