Does this closing mean we all officially have to grow up now? I’m a Toys ‘R Us kid. I always will be. It feels like a little part of my childhood is dying.
Back in March, when they first announced Toys ‘R Us was closing, I took tiny many over for a visit. I thought maybe we’d find some good deals and we’d spend a little time soaking in some last memories.
Obviously, I knew it was coming to end, but I didn’t realize what that would truly mean to me. How I would feel now knowing that was the last time I would wander those bright, colorful, joy filled aisles. When they announced that everything would be closed for good by Friday this week, we headed back over for one final goodbye.
When we walked in, by instinct, I grabbed a cart; truly thinking we’d go snag some deals this time. I was not prepared for an overwhelming feeling of sadness when I walked through the door.
Empty. The entire store was EMPTY. Like a ghost town.
They had one shelf up front that was filled with a random spattering of leftover toys and that was it. I pulled tiny man out of the cart and we just walked back into the emptiness.
That’s when it hit me. Lots of memories of childhood. Geoffrey. That song. Those commercials.
Maybe I’m silly for feeling this way about a store, but it feels like more than that. It’s a shift in childhood. A shift in experiences. These future kids who will get all their toys online will never know that magic feelings of walking through those aisles. The excitement of walking into a store like this with that birthday money burning a hole in your pocket.
So, goodbye Geoffrey. Goodbye million toys; bikes, train, video games. I don’t wanna grow up. I want to keep being a Toys ‘R Us kid.
Courtney MaCaire 