Last week I took a walk down memory lane. Friday morning I was invited to Paradise Valley Mall as part of Arizona Midday’s Family Feedback Forum. Destry Jetton, the host, invites moms to chat and give her suggestions on what they would like to see on the show. I get to tag along, chat with the moms and pass
out magazines. The choice of location and time is relevant to these moms. You see, at 10:30am on the first Friday of the month at PV Mall something special happens in front of JC Penney in the Children’s Play Area – the Kids Club.
Sixteen years and some months ago, I lived for the mornings we could go to Kids Club. Mylan was about 10 months old and we would get up, get dressed and head to Metrocenter Mall. There we would meet up with my friend Charlene and her baby Angela. We would stay after Kids Club for lunch, shopping or just walking around the mall chatting. I look back at that time with such fondness, because of the joy that Kids Club brought to Mylan. The ringmaster was Persephone (who, in her 17th year is still as energetic and passionate today as she was then!) and her sidekick Max the Moose. There was singing and dancing and messages of family and friends that were delivered in such a way they resonated with both adults and kids. The girls would clap and dance and laugh until they fell down, and then get up and do it all over again!
Fast forward to this morning, this mall, this Kids Club. It wasn’t MY Kids Club, but Persephone was there. Max the Moose has headed back to Alaska, and in his place is Webster the Warthog. The moms are there too – looking young to me (but still sleep-deprived), and I smile and nod as they chase their toddlers – waiting in anticipation for the show to start. When Persephone takes the stage the kids
jump to their feet to sing along. They giggle in delight when they see Webster and reach out for a hug or a high-five. They dance and act silly and have fun.
I stay in the fringes of the crowd, taking it all in – remembering. I want to tell all these young moms how fast it all goes (like everyone always tells everybody) to enjoy these moments of pure joy, but somehow I think, they have already figured that out.
