My mother took a day of vacation to spend with me today, as I will be leaving on Saturday. My bosom buddy and I had an altogether entertaining time.

We slept in late this morning, or later than usual with my bumbling father having no concept of soundlessness. After a slow start, we departed for the exotic thrill of Madison, of the Eastside Mall.

We dawdled in JC Penny first, looking for jeans for my father. "He doesn't like the relaxed fit. We can't get him the relaxed fit. He just doesn't like them," my mother droned. I rolled my eyes and peered down the endless rows of stacked relaxed fit denim. Oh wait!—I see something! Oh. Never mind. Loose Fit. We set off like dual Tasmanian Devils, parting ways as we tackled opposing corners of the department. I heard Mom's "Ah hah!" from a hundred feet away. Over background music and customer chatter, I still heard her. Wearily, I made my way to the frantic woman as she screamed wildly, "Regular Fit!" Two men coughed uncomfortably from across the walkway, and a little girl began to cry...but by golly we found Dad some jeans.

We went to the Disney store also. There were other stops, but we didn't make fools of ourselves while there, so they're hardly worth mentioning.

The Disney store was congested with stuffed animals, a large display of Winnie the Pooh characters front and centermost! Mom and I entered the wonderland, our eyes bright with the unforgotten carelessness of youth. It tends to override the, "You're an adult, and as such, you mustn't be caught laughing like a tipsy hyena in a children's store!" sensibility. We scurried around from display to display, picking up this stuffed animal or that, mimicking each character's voice and uttering something idiotic. Oh, we laughed! We laughed loud and uncontrollably! We laughed until our bellies hurt and our eyes watered! I caught sight of the store employees catching the contagious laughter as mom picked up a stuffed Thumper and exclaimed in a high pitch, "Look Mom! The shelf is stiff!"