Trick or Treating At Target Headquarters

Yesterday, Ted picked Thomas the Tank and his erstwhile sidekick, Garden Gnome Girl, up from school early so they could go trick-or-treating at Target's headquarters. Target's headquarters, as some of our readers know firsthand, and as many others may suspect, is in a sky scraper.* Ted works on a rather high floor of it, so the stairs were not going to be an option. But Joe is apprehensive about elevators. He's been in them before, but was perhaps too young to register those experiences. The weekend of Julie's birthday, when she and Kate took the bambini to music class, we parked in the parking garage on the second floor and took the elevator down. Julie thought Joe was on the verge of revolting then, but he didn't. Nevertheless, Julie was not surprised the next week when Joe flatly refused to get in the elevator. This is all to say that the path to trick-or-treating at Daddy's work included an elevator and we needed to do some prep work.

So we discussed it over "family dinner." We covered off on how neither tricks nor treats could be had if Joe did not ride the elevator. We decided that he might be afraid, but if so, he could hold Daddy's hand. By the time we'd talked it all out, he actually sounded excited at the prospect of riding in the elevator. But then he didn't.

So who knew how this adventure would go down. Ted was prepared to make ready all preparations and launch the mission, only to abort at the elevator doors.

We will not keep you in suspense. Our Hero was a champion. He asked for Ted to hold him, but he rode the elevator up. (Birdie pressed the red emergency call button, naturally.) The dynamic duo were, according to reports from the field, a huge hit. Clara, in particular, who motored from treat bowl to treat bowl gathering loot for for bucket. She does, as her legion Brigade will undoubtedly recall, love her a gathering activity. Joe called Julie at work and reported on all the sights he'd seen.

Then, he rode the elevator back down. This time, he pressed the button.

*Have we mentioned yet that we have been trying to elucidate for Joe the difference between a sky scraper and just a tall building? Say, like the apartment building by the Whole Foods that is maybe 20 stories tall? (And we haven't even gotten to floors of buildings being called stories. Oh this English language. . .)