They Go Together Like Ra Ma La Ma Ka Dinga Kiding a Dong

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“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.” – Rumi

To whoever thought of building a kid’s hair salon in the neighborhood toy store – wow, you are brilliant.

The other day, Mr. D needed to get his hair cut. So Miss O and I accompanied him to the back of the toy store so he could climb in to the fire engine shaped seat to hang out with “his best friend,” also known as Jenny, the stylist.

I sat on the couch in the toy store positioned just outside the salon while Miss O, and Mr D, when the haircut was done, roamed around to look at everything on the shelves. I was reading my book, but really was mostly reading the people.

I’ll start with my kids. Eight-year-old Miss O knew within minutes that she wanted slime and was willing to spend her own money on a second slime because it was worth it to her to have two fancy slimes, even though it was over the budget I had given her. She had a full story of why each one was important and how the characters portrayed for the slimes related to things she’d learned at school. In other words, she had an endless monologue for her shopping experience.

Four-year-old Mr. D roamed the store for an hour looking at everything, playing with display items, enjoying the experience but eventually rejecting each toy as not the right thing. Mr. D wasn’t aware of budget and so it wasn’t price that was informing his decisions. He either had something similar at home or it didn’t sing to him.

But he did pair up with Mikey who was about his same age. Mikey had $10 to spend which at a toy store in this day and age, doesn’t buy much. He was interested in a police car, and the small ones they had didn’t match his idea. But he didn’t complain about that, he just enlisted Mr. D in his help to find more options.

And then there was Teddy. I’d guess Teddy was halfway between Miss O and Mr D age-wise, probably 6-ish. He was playing with my kids at the train table by the couch I was sitting on. He was declaring all the demo trains were his, and might have taken a thing or two directly from the other kids. Miss O was facilitating play and just shrugged her shoulders and accommodated him, somehow sensing it was more important to him than to anyone else.

His mom was sitting next to me tried to get Teddy to modify his behavior. Seeing it was okay with the kids, she sighed, and said to me that Teddy was emotionally fragile at that moment. It was his dad’s birthday and he was having trouble sharing the spotlight. He’d had quite a few hard “no’s” to things he’d wanted that morning.

Holy cow! Great people watching. Each of the characters mapped to people I’ve known in my life and their approaches. Disappointment, idealism, pragmatism, story-telling, alliances. Yes, bravo to whoever thought of a salon (and couches) in a toy store.

(featured photo from Pexels)

46 thoughts on “They Go Together Like Ra Ma La Ma Ka Dinga Kiding a Dong”

  3. Um, do they do big people hair. Okay, I don’t have much of a need for a barber/stylist anymore, but if it means going to the toy store, I would certainly let the few stray hairs I have grow, so I could check out the toys! Plus, love the people watching. I’m a people watching fanatic, love seeing different characters and how they interact with others. I have to include this Wynne: continually amazed with Miss O’s young wisdom and figuring out on her own what matters and what doesn’t. That is very cool Wynne!!!!

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    1. Oh, Brian, you and Kath need to come visit. We’ll take you to the toy store whether or not you need a cut. 🙂 And thank you for the kind words about Miss O. She does really well – especially when she’s rested and fed. I suppose that’s like all of us!

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  8. I would like someone to introduce just such a salon here! There might–and I emphasize that it’s still iffy, but at least in the realm of probability!–be some more frequent hair-cutting this side of the line. 🙂

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    1. Oh, I feel you on this one, Deborah. That is exactly why we go to that salon because I got tired of running around the house with scissors getting one snip done every 3 days or so… 🙂

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  11. This brought back memories of roaming the toy store when my grandparents visited, promising to buy us one toy of our choosing. Oh, how diligently I looked everything over, before finally deciding on a little turtle. It was nothing special, and yet, that might just be the best toy I ever had.

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  15. Hair salons and toy stores are usually the sites for epic kid meltdowns! By combining them they have managed to nip those in the bud? fascinating!

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  16. People watching, especially little people, is the best. I agree with you that the person who came up with the idea for a salon inside a toy store has great entrepreneurial acumen. I bet an ice cream stand goes up in the summer next!

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  19. Oh I love this so much, “Each of the characters mapped to people I’ve known in my life and their approaches,” this is how we learn how to do life. In a toy store, with a salon in the back and a couch for mom. I love to people watch, every time people surprise me. Hugs, C

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