Fear and Parenting in Las Vegas

Well, it’s been nearly a week since I gave up Target to suport my gay and lesbian friends.

And, to be honest, I really wished their CEO could have waited until after back to school season to exercise his constitutional rights to be wrong.

It would have given me a chance to get the blackout drapes I wanted for Doodle’s room on sale…so maybe he could sleep past 6 a.m. on a weekend.

It would have made shopping for shoes and folders and lysol disinfecting spray and electronic wipes and lunchbox every other item on Boo’s first grade supply list a one-stop effort instead of a trek through three stores and the Internet.

I could have picked up a new lullaby CD for Doodle while I was at it, since his attempts to transform the current disc into a frisbee have made 90 percent of the tracks as skippy as a gay pride parade in San Francisco.

However, I am not budging. I’ve held my ground despite the extra miles, extra pennies and inconveniences. So far, Target’s missed out on about $500 in purchases from me. In. A. Week.

But all is not lost (for me at least).

I’ve had some amusing and entertaining finds along the way.

Stuff like this:

Hillary Clinton 1st Cleaning Lady Toilet Scrubber

Now this is a gift to get all of my conservative friends who feel it appropriate to use the Secretary of State’s head to clean the head.  I am sure it will provide hours of entertainment and educational value as they teach their kids to scrub toilets (like I did) with a foreign policy lesson as an added bonus. (Note: If you lean to the left as I do, take heart, Amazon carries a George Bush brush as well. Get the pair and you can entertain the kiddies with debate reenactments during bathtime!)

Imax Chairs Cast Iron Decorative Scuptures

Need a little extra seating about the house? Is it time to put your high and mighty mother in law in the throne she deserves? Try these on for size. Frankly, I’m interested if these come with a matching trebuchet to launch my 3YO to the crow’s nest for “time out”. Of course, the seat will have to be lined with velcro to keep him there.

Kyjen Hide-A-Squirrel Puzzle Toy

The Kill Bill Lunchbox

This weekend you scrubbed a toilet for the first time and learned to use the vacuum cleaner.* You shepherded your little brother around and did your regular chores with barely a complaint.  You were happy to earn a later bedtime and some extra dessert. But your biggest reward is and always has been more independence and added responsibility.

You got to take the dog for a walk around the block…by yourself. And THAT was a REALLY BIG DEAL.

It meant I trusted you.

It meant that I knew you understood the rules, had a solid sense of your surroundings and believed that you could handle the dog on your own.

And you did it.

Yes, Steve was secretly watching you the whole time, but you did it…and you did it well.

Your little brother was waiting for you on the lawn as your blond ponytail bounced around the last turn. Your face beamed with pride and joy.

You did it, Boo.

_____________________

*The pieces of my plan are coming together…soon you will be a pint-sized cleaning machine driven to fight every stray dog hair and speck of dust so I can stay on the couch watching Deadliest Catch as I wash my Cool Ranch Doritos down with a frosty Diet Coke.

If you check my monthly bank statements, you’d probably see that I spend on average of $300 a month at Target. From clothing to housewares to cleaning supplies, Target has been my go-to store for nearly everything. (And let’s not even think of what I’ve spent there setting up my household after the divorce and Christmas shopping every year.) It’s fair to say that I spend more at Target annually than I spend at any other single retailer.

So that’s why this is going to hurt.

Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel donated $150,000 to MN Forward, a group running TV ads supporting Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, a politician who is actively seeking to deny citizens their civil right to marry based upon their sexual orientation.

In general, I don’t begrudge folks for giving to causes that I don’t agree with. It’s their right to vote and express their political opinions through their campaign contributions. I also understand his argument that one rarely agrees with all of a particular candidate’s platforms when issuing financial support.

But some things I can’t stomach. Denying citizens their rights is one of them. My continued shopping at Target will continue to pay Steinhafel the dollars that he is funneling to a cause that, along with other noble and honorable things, has an anti-gay agenda.

And that’s something that I can’t live with.

But, in the end, it needs to hurt Steinhafel more than it hurts me.

So, I’ll be shopping online at Amazon, Overstock, and other online retailers. I’ll be paying a few extra cents at my grocery store for cleaning supplies. I’ll be making a few more stops at multiple shops to get all the things I used to get under Target’s roof. Fortunately, I’m not alone.

Do I think my efforts will actually hurt a mega monster like Target? Not hardly. But at least I’ll sleep better at night knowing that I’m taking a stand.

I may come back…if Steinhafel donates to the Human Rights Campaign or another similar organization the same amount (or greater) that he gave Emmer and other anti-gay candidates.

Until then, I will explain to my kids that some things are more important than riding around in a red shopping cart eating popcorn and drinking lemonade while Mommy shops for their back to school stuff. We have popcorn and lemonade at home and they can play outside while I order online.