Health and Beauty for Shawn

Okay, I decided that I need to do a fun, happy post because I realize my last one was a bit of a downer. And what subject makes for a fun and happy post I ask myself? Well one subject comes to mind almost immediately.

Shawn!

I hope that no one will think, "Oh no. Not another Shawn post. Won't this make like her tenth one?" No, not quite, but close. Anyway, I guess I have so much to say about this funny little guy of mine because he is the only child I still have to actively think about and provide mothering for on a daily basis. Everyone else around here can fend for themselves more or less. Shawn can in a pinch, but he is much happier if he knows I am there to keep an eye on him.

There are two things that have prompted this post.

First.

In one of my last posts I mentioned Shawn's love for the Health and Beauty sections of stores. I remember thinking at the time, "that will probably need some explaining" I didn't though because it would have changed the whole flavor of what I was writing about.

Second.

My sweet cousin-in-law, Debie Spurgeon has reached the grand total of 95 posts. To celebrate she is having a give- away. Her give-away just happens to be a really nice (and pretty complete too, from the looks of it) First Aid Kit.

Shawn LOVES First Aid Kits!

I wrote about that in the comment/entry into her give-away, that I left her. And then I started thinking, explaining all this would be a fun post.

So here goes.

Ever since Shawn was very small he has shown an interest in medical equipment. It is really sort of a weird paradox because he was terrified of hospitals and Dr offices. He needed to be hospitalized at least three times that I can think of but it was probably more like four. And he went to Dr appointments quite often. He had what was pretty much a never ending ear infection among other things (nothing ever very life threatening, thank goodness) Eventually, when he was around two, his ears got under control enough to have tubes put in them. There were other problems that he needed medical attention for so he pretty much would throw a fit when he saw that was were we were going.

Fortunately, a few of these doctors were able to distract him by letting him play with their unbreakable instruments. They let him look through the ear-o-scope (obviously I don't know the proper name) they would also let him see and handle the stethoscope This is pretty much the best reason I can come up with for him to love these kinds of things so much. For probably six years in a row for Christmas we would get him the Fisher Price Doctor Kit. It was a Christmas staple. So that was how (at least I think) Shawn developed his love for first aid.

Oh yeah, I'm forgetting commercials.

He loves all kinds of commercials. And he takes all their little slogans completely serious. You know like in Forrest Gump "do you have a cough due to a cold?" that is Shawn. Quite often he will repeat commercial slogans, little purple pill, have it your way, more bars in more places.

Get it? For Shawn, Coke really is the real thing.

Well enough plot exposition. ( That's a quote from The Great Muppet Caper, Shawn would totally get it.) Lets fast forward to now. Shawn has somehow taken his love for band aids and decided to embrace the whole health and beauty section. I always let him go off on his own in stores because I know I will either find him in Home Entertainment (this is most likely) or Health and beauty(just slightly less likely)
And by health and beauty I don't mean the make-up and perfume aisle.

Thank goodness he's never taken an interest there.

No, I am talking soap, shampoo, shaving cream (a huge favorite), MANLY body wash (you know like Old Spice) ointments (all kinds except diaper) and toothpastes and mouthwash. In other words the kind of products that most of us buy because we are running low not because we have seen the commercial.

Now call me cheap but some products (shampoo not included) I will just as soon buy the store brand instead of the name brand.

This is agony for Shawn.

He really can't grasp this concept of choosing store brand over something that is worthy enough to be shown on TV. And usually with a real nice slogan to boot. I will give you a small example of how this works.

Here I am, done with my shopping at, oh, let's say Walmart. Time to go find Shawn. Over to the Movie Section. Hmmm. Where is Shawn? I'm surprised he's not here.

Okay, plan B.

Health and Beauty.

Okay, shampoo aisle. No Shawn.

Soap aisle? Nope not here.

Razor Blades and Shaving Cream (sure thing) Huh? Not here either.

Oh there he is. Looking at the hydracortisone cream and the neosporin.

Now as usual, I notice one of his hands curled around something. Oh no, here we go again. Shawn I ask, what do you have in your hand. Now don't get the wrong impression he would never try to shoplift.

No it's much more complex than that.

He has developed a pretty good instinct for things that I will say no to. And five dollar an ounce antibacterial whatever, is one of those things. Shawn's dilemma is that he will not know a moment's peace until it is his and he can take it home and find several uses for it in just the first ten minutes.

So for this reason he has it mostly hidden in his hand. He wants it so badly but he knows what I will say and so I guess he just tries to prolong the facade that Mom will say "Oh, of course, go ahead and put it in the basket."

Now please realize that I do not have a heart made of stone.

So every once in a while I will say those magic words that he wants so bad to hear and he will go home very happy.That would be ONCE in a while.

My daughter Heidi thinks I should just give in and buy him what he wants and lately I have been taking her advice more and more, but there are just some things I CANNOT spend money on. For instance an eight dollar and forty seven cent, two ounce container of antibacterial hand sanitizer spray.

Sorry, sometimes my inner robo-consumer just takes over and I am helpless.

Now one thing I will do, is litter his Christmas stocking and Easter basket with all of these things he loves so much. He also has gotten a new first aid kit every year for Christms for more years than I can remember.

A couple of years ago he simply had to have these fancy, Teflon coated, antibacterial soaked, silver lined, 100 percent water proof band-aids. I had told him No so many times on these, that I literally could feel myself de-evolving into a broken record.

So imagine my surprise when he showed me that Santa had come through for him and put them in his stocking.

Oh yes, he gets toothpaste and mouthwash, cans of highly advertised but prohibitively expensive shaving cream, waterless hand gel, and yes of course all the different kinds of band aids that unless you are an aficionado like Shawn you had never even imagined existed.

He gets all of these, and he is HAPPY!!!

That is until the next time we go shopping.