The Squee Heard Round the Target

by Laurie Boyle Crompton

We all have special moments in life when we get that ‘this is it’ feeling inside. That ‘wow this could be kind of a big deal.’ I’ve had my share, getting engaged, married, selling my first YA novel and five more books after, and twice I’ve been blessed to experience the ‘this is it’ moment of giving birth. For me, personally, becoming a mother kind of blows the others away.

So I will always have a crystal-clear memory of going into labor with my first child right in the middle of a shopping trip at our local Target. Living on Long Island means having a limitless selection of stores to shop in, but I’ve always gotten lucky at Target, finding just what I need. It was quite fitting that my unborn daughter turned out to be a big fan as well.

I was at the very end of my pregnancy when my mother and I had the urge to add to the nursery’s already considerable baby clothes collection. My husband and I lived in Long Beach, NY at the time, the land of tiny bungalow houses, and so the baby’s room was small. But ‘just one more onsie’ had become my mom’s mantra, so off to Target we went. 

I’d done plenty of walking along the beach each day, but strolling through that Target must have triggered something in my little girl. I got that deep sense of ‘this is it’ in the form of sudden labor pains! My daughter took her sweet time in coming and so we got to the hospital without drama, but I will never forget rubbing my huge belly as I told the checkout clerk I needed to use her phone to call my doctor. “I’m in labor,” I told her wide-eyed look of surprise. She very quickly ushered me right to the front of the line at customer service. 

Eighteen years later, we still tease my daughter about her deep love of Target. Every time we go she finds something great. So when I got the exciting news that my latest YA novel, PRETTY IN PUNXSUTAWNEY, is being stocked at Target it wasn’t hard to convince my daughter to come along and check it out. Below is the video she recorded of my ‘this is it’ moment of seeing my book in the exact same store where our journey together began. As you can see, it makes me a *little* happy.

My favorite part of the whole joy-filled video? When we got to the aisle, my daughter spotted my book right away. If you listen, you can hear her give a little gasp when she sees it. Each time watch this clip it makes me think: That’s right, baby girl, just another magical moment together in the aisle of our local Target.