I Heard The Phrase, "Toys Were Us" More Today Than I've Ever Heard In My Life...

A few weeks ago one of our sons asked if we could go to to Toys R Us to check it out and see what things would be on sale. Today I took boys #2 and #4 to see what there was to see.

We are not a big Toys R Us family. The nineteen-year old said as we walked in he may have been in the store maybe once in his life. It's possible he's been there a couple more times, but not many. And the thirteen-year old didn't remember going at all. Maybe that's why the place is closing--not enough kids have been in the store with their parents. I wish we could have contributed to the store's continued success, but sorry--just wasn't meant to be.

I think I expected something different when I went inside. I envisioned nearly empty shelves, perhaps down-in-the-mouth employees. I didn't see that. In fact, it looked like it normally did whenever I went inside in the past. Except for fewer than normal selection of video games, the shelves looked to be well-stocked. Also, there were several employees in blue shirts who were courteous and helpful and I didn't get that "about to close the doors" vibe I thought I'd feel.

I did feel something while inside. I felt bad the store was closing. I wondered what the employees will be doing for work in the coming weeks and months. I hope they will land on their feet and find something else to replace their current job. I felt bad that this option--of being able to walk into a store and pick up that favorite toy for a son or daughter--will be unavailable from one particular store. Sure, there's the big stores, Target, Wal*Mart, etc., that have toys, but going to a place dedicated to one thing was fun. And, of course, there's the on-line shopping that's still available. It's probably the on-line shopping that helped do in Toys R Us in the first place.

As we approached the store, I heard one of the boys say something about how the store is now "Toys Were Us." I heard the same thing a few more times before we left. I watched an episode of The Goldbergs recently where the father and Adam were banned from their local video store. Memories of strolling through aisles and aisles of videos at Blockbuster came back to me. In years to come, I wonder if my kids will say they remember going to Toys R Us. I suppose time will tell.