Sponge Bob!

We took a trip to the grocery store today and I have to say I couldn't believe how well Mr. C did with the 2 hour excursion. He usually likes to push his own cart and I spend a lot of time making sure he stays near me, isn't crashing into me or others, and isn't putting random objects in the cart.

Normally I try to avoid the longer trips and save those for when I am able to go by myself, but our fridge was bare and I couldn’t wait any longer. I had noticed, along with others that see him, he has been much calmer since we have been using the brushing with him 2-3 times a day leading up to the 7 days of more frequent sessions.

When we got there he actually chose to ride in one of those carts that are like a car, which he rarely chooses because he doesn’t usually like to sit still. When he has chosen them in the past, I spend the entire time trying to keep him in the cart, but I thought we would give it a try and I buckled his seat belt.

He had brought his toy Woody from Toy Story with him and played with it contently for most of the trip, until we got to the cheese section in the very last row. Suddenly, he decided to throw him in the air. The next thing we know Woody is on top of the cheese display against the wall. An employee nearby tried to reach him without much luck, so he got my name in order for me to pick him up later after they were able to get him down with a ladder.

As we walked away from the cheese case, Mr C was beside himself. He was crying and screaming, “Woody! Woody!” I tried to explain we would have to get him later, but he didn’t seem to understand. An elderly couple walked by and jokingly said, “You gotta stop pinching him!”

The employee must have felt bad and went and got the store manager to get Woody down for us. However at this time, Mr C’s cries for “Woody! Woody!” had changed to “Sponge Bob! Sponge Bob!” and I wasn’t quite sure what he was referring to. Did he see something in the store? Was he confused about which toy he had thrown? Although we don’t have a Sponge Bob toy.

I just keep pushing my way through the store, when the manager comes up and says to him. “Are you missing something?” Mr C didn’t respond, but when the manager presented him with Woody Mr C said, “Thank you” then “No! Sponge Bob!” as if to say “No, I don’t want Woody, I want Sponge Bob don’t you know that!”

We both chuckled and I thanked the guy again, but he did become calm again once he was able to have his Woody back. So, the trip was ultimately a success with this minor exception. I do think he has learned not to throw his toys around the grocery store!