Trip to JCPenny's - Part II

So my son has pretended to be Spidy and in doing so, has shut down the escalator. As much as I would love to report the story ends with the escalator, it does not. During my reminder to Spidy of my "no jumping off elevated surfaces while indoors" rule, I spot a clearance rack of beautiful dresses. Our church would soon be hosting a formal and I needed a dress. We were there and I figured I had already had my embarrassing moment for the day.

The boys and I move to the rack so I can take a quick look-see. Wouldn't you know, there were loads of dresses in my size. How wonderful! The day is going to take a turn for the better. I gather up some of my favorite finds and off we go to the fitting room.

There are two fitting rooms from which I can choose. The first is tiny. It would definitely be a tight. The second is a much larger room equipped with an actual floor-to-ceiling door. I opt for that one so I don't have to worry about the boys peaking at the neighbor under the dividers. Yes, this option is perfect. It's basically a large closet with plenty of room for the boys, me, and all the dresses.

By this point, the quick trip to the mall is taking much longer than expected. The boys, being the ingenious creatures they are, begin to entertain themselves. It starts off with web shooting noises and quickly progresses to (pretend) wall clinging, just like Spidy. They're not hurting anything so I let it continue.

Soon, the pretend play escalates into "wall jumping" complete sound effects. The boys are having a blast "swinging" from wall to wall inside the dressing room and I'm having a blast trying on dresses. At this point, the boys are basically running around me in a circle from one wall to another, hitting each wall as they go. There's a thud with each hit but it's not hurting anyone so I let it go.

After a minute or so of their pretend play, there's a knock on the door from a sales associate.

"Is everything okay in there?"

"Yes," I reply.

She continues, "I heard thudding and noticed it was coming from the handicapped fitting room. Are you sure you don't need assistance ma'am? I have an additional associate with me to help."

Thank the Lord I'm behind a closed door. My face was beet red as I replied, "Um, yes. I'm okay. The thudding you hear are my boys. We're all fine and we'll be leaving as soon as I dress."


Lessons learned:
1. I have developed the ability to tune out the sounds of my children.
2. The sounds of my boys are louder than I realize.
3. A quick trip to the mall does not involve a fitting room.
4. The spacious fitting rooms are usually for those with a handicap.
5. The sales associates at JCPenny's will notice if you're in distress in a fitting room.