Wall-E Got it Wrong!

The dystopian future in the movie Wall-E imagines the "big box" stores we see all around us merging into a single entity the "Buy N Large" superstore("It's aaaall you need!"), that takes up the length of multiple city blocks.

(Only 1/3 of the building)

And in 2009 when the movie came out it was certain that this was where the future of shopping was headed.

But then it didn't--at least not for me.

See, it's shopping season again, and this is more what my "the future of shopping" has ended up looking like for me:

Amazon.

Things delivered to my door with just a few clicks of a mouse and keyboard.  And, believe me, I have a guilt complex about it... But it's just so much better!

The obvious reason that shopping anywhere with four kids in tow is no picnic.  But another reason being simply the massive selection that no local store can compare to.

Last year at Christmastime, I was shopping at a neighborhood store and saw something that would be perfect for Wyatt.  But we already had "enough" presents for him for Christmas so I didn't buy it.  When I went back to the store in April, they no longer carried "that version" of the item.   So I went home and ordered it on Amazon instead.  All the while shaking my head and saying "I tried!"

I'm just not going to spend money on something I don't really want simply because it's at a store in town, when what I really want can magically show up on my doorstep in two days.

So if you don't hear from me after this gift-giving season is over, it may just be because I'm buried under a pile of Amazon boxes. . . Or perhaps my giving up the weekly walks around the big box store in favor of sitting on my bum ordering things online means I won't be mobile again until I get one of those Axiom hover-chairs!

(Perhaps Wall-E was right after all.)