BULLSEYE!

All hail the giant bull’s-eye. Bask in its almighty redness. Target has finally opened in Hanover.

Yes, friends and neighbors, the day you’ve been waiting for has finally arrived. No longer will you have to drive two extra minutes to buy your greeting cards, cleaning products, DVDs and 90% cotton-10% modal clothing (FYI, modal is the thing that makes those tissue thin t-shirts cling to your body. Not recommended for the over 30 crowd). No longer shall we trek to Abington or, heaven forbid, all the way down to Kingston. Once only a dream, Hanover’s Target is finally a reality and only a mere stone’s throw away. (In point of fact, my friend Sue can see the bull’s-eye from her home.)

This Target store has been long anticipated. Shortly after our sporting goods-turned-furniture store went defunct, rumors began circulating that our town would have its own Target. We’d already been blessed with Trader Joe’s and Panera Bread. Could we really be this lucky? Could Target actually be within our grasp?

Truth be told, when the Target rumors became fact, I was disappointed. My first thought was, “Do we really need a Target in our town? Do we need to clear cut trees, impact water tables, widen roads and add another set of stop lights on an already crowded stretch of the main road? Do we need to contribute to the “mall-ification” of the South Shore?
Apparently, we do. I guess if we can have a Dunkin’ Donuts at every mile marker, what’s one more Target store?

Don’t get me wrong, I love Target: the books, the toys, the electronics, the clothes. I was first introduced to it while visiting my parents in New Jersey. Subsequently, every trip home for the holidays had to include at least one visit to Target. When I discovered one in Kingston, I was pleased to have it within a twenty-minute drive (close enough to visit every once in a while, but not so close as to tempt me daily).

Then Target opened in nearby Abington, and suddenly it was just nine minutes from my home (yes, I timed it). Now it was almost too close. I could justify going by adding a grocery run at the neighboring Stop in Shop. Thankfully, most days my errands were clustered in the opposite direction. I could resist temptation.

As construction progressed, my children constantly asked, “When will Target open?” (Proof that those children are mine.) When the bull’s-eye went up on the side, they shrieked with joy. Upon entering the YMCA, they would comment that they could see Target from the parking lot. Finally, the piece de resistance: the sign bearing the words “Opening October 11”. The wait was nearly over.

While lunching with a friend last Wednesday, another friend called my cell phone twice in rapid succession. Concerned, I checked my messages immediately, only to hear my friend’s voice, bursting with jubilation and saying, “I have the most exciting news. Target is open!”

Apparently, Target had had their ‘soft open” the night before, inviting local dignitaries and the like (hmmm, where was my invitation?) Although the official opening was scheduled for the 11th, the store was open for business. As I strolled the pristine aisles marveling at how neat and well stocked everything was, I bumped into several friends. At each encounter we would laugh and smile and share our amazement that Target had finally come to our town. I left the store $100 poorer.

That evening my kids begged me to take them to Target. My husband shook his head and said, “But it’s just a store.” Poor man, he grew up in farm country. As a New Jersey native I am living proof that you can take the girl out of the mall but you just can’t take the mall out of the girl. Apparently, I passed that gene on to my sons. We piled in the car and drove the seven minutes (yes, I timed it) to the shiny new store. As we cruised through the parking lot, the glow of the bull’s-eye bathing us in a soft red glow, I thought about my husband’s comment. Yes, it’s only Target.

But it’s my Target.