When I was a kid, my parents would take me to Toys R Us and my dad would tell me, "Pick out 1 toy and I'll get it for you." Other times they would just take me to figure out what to get me for my birthday or Christmas. That place has always had a special place in my childhood.
As I grew up to a teenager, I always knew it was there but I didn't go back because I didn't have a reason to. I'd always pass by it and remember those times my parent took me to get whatever I wanted (Yes, I was a spoiled kid). I was 'too cool' to go to Toys R Us because I had a girlfriend or some other stupid reason.
When I got married, I started remembering what my parents did for me when I was a kid. I started thinking to myself that when I had a kid, I'd do the same thing for them since I knew how much it meant to my childhood to be able to get that one toy you always wanted. It made me feel good that something from my childhood was still around and I could share that with my kid some day.
I look at the news feed on my Facebook and I see that Toys R Us is in trouble. I see the articles that say that they're filing for bankruptcy and it looks like they may be closing. My dream of taking my future kid to my childhood haven was starting to fade. Images that I had in my head of my wife and I going to Babies R Us and picking out strollers, car seats and toys were starting to become just a fantasy instead of reality. Sure, I could go to Walmart or Target, but there's something about the idea of taking your kid to the same places that you went to as a kid that makes you feel good about yourself and your future.
I wake up on Wednesday morning only to discover that Toys R Us is officially closing all it's stores. My dreams of taking my kid there are officially dead. I'm filled with sadness and disbelief but also the realization that my dreams shouldn't be fixated on one place. I realized that I don't have to take my kid to a certain place to give them the same childhood memories that I had. There's nothing wrong with giving them different ones. Don't get me wrong, it would have been nice to say, "My parent's used to take me here and buy me toys here too.", but maybe my kids will be able to say that in the future.
RIP Toys R Us, Thank you for the memories.
