I took a kid to the mall.

It has been years since I braved the mall with a child in tow. This Sunday, though, I had to go the mall to replace some makeup. (I left my makeup bag in a hotel in Ethiopia which was a rather expensive mistake.) So I was on my way out with the kids happily playing at home under Mark’s watch, when India asked if she could go with me.

Sure?

And then she asked if we could wear matching outfits.

So we changed into our black tank-tops and matching striped maxi skirts and set off for the mall, with no small trepidation on my part because of past experiences. 

I am happy to report . . . we had a blast. She loved looking at all the makeup in the MAC store (and trying a bit on in Sephora.) We browsed some clothing shops and she pointed out her favorite dresses in Madewell and we bought some scented hand sanitizer for her siblings and sampled perfume and stopped into Godiva and IT WAS LOVELY. It was like I was exposing her to a whole new world. 

And yes, she might have gone a little extreme with her makeup.

As I tucked her into bed, I told her how much fun I had with her, and that I could see us going to the mall together for fun when she is a grown-up too. She smiled widely and hugged my neck, and I thought, again, how much I’m loving this stage of parenting.

And how expensive this is gonna be.