Have you ever been at the grocery store and seen a woman with one or more children, looking frazzled - nay, downright zombified - with her runny-nosed, scruffy-looking child eating groceries from their cart?
Cast ye not the first stone.
Today I was that woman. I desperately needed to go to the grocery store. It could not be put off until another day. By the time I'd printed out my online coupons and clipped some from Sunday circulars, it was getting dangerously close to lunch time. But, I was low on munchies to feed Colton (i.e. the urgent need for the grocery trip). I gave him a snack before we left, packed another and hoped for the best.
Within about 5 minutes of entering the store, I could see that we were going to have to break out the big guns. The unpopular packed snack (which is why it was still uneaten at home) wasn't going to cut it.
1st attempt: Rip open a box of Ritz crackers and hand a couple over to the hungry, hungry hippo. Hmmm, he's still needing something else. 2nd try: Hit the produce aisle, peel a banana and hand him a chunk ... take back slimy, spit out banana and wrap it in a baby wipe. 3rd time's the charm: We have a winner with a little box of raisins.
I'm sure there is some lesson here about not bringing a hungry child to the store and also some other lessons about not giving in to screaming children who don't like the first two foods they're offered. But, I really needed groceries! Please have mercy on me! I promise... well, I really can't make any promises but ... I'm trying here.
All for the sake of soothing a hungry, grumpy 18-month-old.
Colton repeatedly tried to convince me that leaving a Hansel- and Gretel-esque raisin trail would be appreciated by Kroger management. My pocketful of retrieved raisins at the end of the trip was testimony to my belief in the contrary.
Down several aisles, I passed a well-dressed woman who didn't seem to want to smile at me. I can't say as I blame her. She probably sensed that me and my overloaded cart and my adorable combination raisin-launcher/noisemaker were going to be a threat come check out time. Her intuition proved correct. I did, in fact, end up in front of her in the one and only open check out line. Well-dressed woman did not look amused.
Fortunately for us all, Kroger management sensed the imminent threat of a meltdown of galactic proportions and opened another check out line.
Groceries were loaded and unloaded to and from the car, little Hansel was put down for a nap and mommy survived to shop another day.
5 comments:
I can totally relate...to you, not just the well-dressed woman :)
Yeah! Another day of survival!!!!I am that shopping zombie almost every time I take the girls to the store:)
These are the good days. :) Been there!
Been there too. The other day at Wal-Mart of all places (the store where I used to most harshly judge) Ava started crying and making the "more" sign in the baby food aisle. I didn't remember to bring snacks so I had to grab a bag of crackers there and give them to her. . . what if she really was starving? That little manipulator . . .
oh boy do I relate. i used to wonder why mom's would leave the house disheveled and kids cranky - but now i know why! the scariest place to walk by is the produce aisle with all the yummy looking tomatoes and bananas...
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