I went grocery shopping today with both of my children...and I mean GROCERY SHOPPING. This was not a quick trip in for a couple of things; this was restock the fridge, freezer, pantry which have stood virtually empty for a few days now. Shopping with both children is something I usually try to avoid simply because my son is so active. He's hanging out of the "car" cart, grabbing things off the shelves as we drive by, talking non-stop and loudly, and a host of other exhausting antics. Unless I am looking for punishment I try to grocery shop on Sundays so I can leave him home with my husband.
Now to just the casual observer the shopping trip would appear to be seamless and effortless. My daughter is perfectly behaved and my son, while active and exasperating, would appear that way to no one but me, primarily because I spend the entire trip saying, "Don't touch that, keep your arms in the cart, don't stick your head there" so all most people see is a crazed looking woman pushing a car full of food and two cherub faced kids.
I don't know what it is about my kids and the grocery store, but we seem to attract every old lady in the store. My goal when entering the store is to get in and out as soon as possible to minimize the damage my son can do. I don't want to stop for anything, nor do I want to talk to anyone, whether I know them or not. However, today every older woman stopped to talk about how cute they were and how well-behaved they were and how they remembered when their children were that little and how one woman's son now lives on the other side of the country and he never visits her and he hardly calls her and a son could call his mother once in a while, didn't I think and on and on (kind of like this sentence).
I don't want to sound like a snob because most times I am more than willing to stop and talk and accommodate the older ladies who want to coo over my kids. However, the grocery store is not one of those times. Today's excursion took over an hour because we were stopped six times....yes six (there was a bus from a local retirement village that had just dropped off the residents for their weekly shopping) and by the end I was dripping sweat and exhausted. The kids were full of energy and ready to play.
2 comments:
My son is generally ill-behaved in the grocery store (probably because my attention is diverted elsewhere) and I dread it when I have to take him alone. Those old ladies clearly only have fond memories of shopping with little ones!
I hear you, grocery shopping has turned into an ordeal, where now I can never even finish it in one store, so the less distractions the better. Although I must say, that when I see wonderfully behaved children (like yours) I must stop to compliment the parent for doing a great job.
P.S. You'd better check that retirement bus schedule in the future and plan accordingly ;)
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