When running errands with small children one-stop-shopping isn’t just convenient, it’s a necessity. So today, when faced with post office, bank and groceries, I decided to try all three at once. There have been many, or at least a few, times in the past that this same scenario played out successfully. The kids behaved, I got my shopping done and we went home. Simple. Not today.
Before I go on let me explain what I look like when I shop. I usually, and this was the case today, put Christian in a baby carrier facing forward and put Tessie in a cart. Christian always wants to carry something, and although this is a good idea in theory, in practice he drops his toy every few yards and I have to squat to pick it up. Today he was holding a cracker and I just prayed he would hold on. We also had our large package with us to mail which I put in the cart. So far so good.
As soon as we entered the store I saw the post office “express” had closed for lunch and so that was off the list. Next stop, the bank. Luckily there was only one person in front of us and so I thought we would be on our way quickly. No such luck. While we were waiting Tessie was playing with my wallet and kept dropping it on the floor. Every time she dropped it I had to squat with Christian to pick it up. After the third squat I confiscated the wallet and set it in the back of the cart. This of course sent Tessie into a big crocodile tear fit. By now the line was getting rather long behind us and the people at tellers in front of us showed no signs of getting close to finishing their business. I tried in hushed tones to get Tes to calm down, to no avail. A woman behind me asked in a very sad voice “What’s wrong?” I explained, with a smile, that Tessie was just working on her Oscar performance and tried not to make eye contact with any of the people in line behind us. Tessie was finally distracted enough to stop crying. Unfortunately this was because she now had to go potty. And then it was our turn to go to a teller. Well the line was very long and I had already been standing there for so long that I advised Tes to try to hold it, and we moved up to the teller. While she was recounting my deposits Christian dropped his cracker. Although I have given back dropped food many times there are some disgusting lines that I do not cross. Of course this didn’t fly at all with Christian and he started to wail. Tessie was chanting “I gotta go potty!” over and over and the teller was counting so slowly I thought she might have fallen asleep. Finally she finished and we zoomed off to find the bathroom.
At this particular grocery store the bathroom is at the top of a very narrow, very tall staircase. I pulled Tes out of the cart, tucked the package and my wallet under my arm, and convinced her she could walk up the stairs by herself. After the long hike up and the very fun squat in the stall with Christian in the pack while balancing Tes on the toilet routine she announced she was too scared to walk back down. Rather than debate for ten minutes at the top of the stairs I scooped her up and waddled down with Tes under one arm, the package under the other and Christian (who was very unhappy with the whole situation) bobbing up and down in the middle. When we got to the bottom our cart was gone and I had to go back to the front of the store to get a new one. I got Tes (and the albatross of a package) back into the cart and moved on to phase three of this delightful trip, the groceries.
We only had a few necessities to pick up, a late addition to that list being wine, and it went rather smoothly. Only a few minor upsets later we were almost through the check out. Now where, in all of this absurd craziness, was there a hint of beauty? Well, it turns out that we took so long running all our “simple” errands that the post office “express” had re-opened! I had never been so happy to mail a package in my life. And even though the woman who helped wasn’t all that helpful, and my kids were once again crying (and continued to cry the entire drive home) I was smiling. And victories, even small ones, are beautiful.
No comments:
Post a Comment