Some change is so subtle it goes unrecognized until a memory is triggered that causes us to notice the difference between then and now. Today, my trigger moment was walking into Target.
When my children were in school, it seemed as though we had a need to go to Target every day. As they matured, became independent and earned their driving privileges, I found myself going to Target less and less. If they needed something, they could go on their own. I realize now, I go to Target perhaps once every 6 weeks, maybe less.
Several years ago a developer broke ground on a very large shopping center just north of the 101 Freeway in Oxnard. Due to the economy, the construction was halted. Shells of buildings sit, waiting to be completed. One of these buildings is a ginormous multi-level Target. If it weren’t red and white I would think it was going to be an Ikea, that is how big this place is.
When I walked into our Oxnard Target today, the one that has grown old and tired – just like me, I was greeted by a sign that read “We will be closing on July 19 at 6:00 p.m. Please visit our new Target store at ….”. Change is a good thing, I guess. Mothers who find it necessary to go to Target everyday after school with their kids will have a beautiful new Target store to visit. I’ll go there too, once every 6 weeks or so, and perhaps when Chelsea and Abigail are in town visiting, for old time’s sake. A part of me is going to miss the old Target, and the memories it holds.
Our lives have earth-shaking events that change us forever – loss of loved ones, divorce, illness. Life is also full of lots and lots of little events, so small we don’t even realize their significance until one day, we walk into a Target store.