Ready...Set...Grocery Store!

In between gas tanks and love tanks, we have a few more things to fill - fridges, freezers and pantries. Going grocery shopping with my kids frightens me, frankly.

Knowing that I will be overwhelmed, I plan ahead. The night before, I make a list. I divide it into categories, put a “c” by the items I have coupons for and organize it according to the store lay-out to make my adventure go smoothly (in theory). Cheesy, I know. Then, I pray for stamina.

My problem is that I always wait until I only have five green beans, three teaspoons of ketchup and two chicken nuggets left in the entire house before I go. Hence…the scary part – the amount of time it takes to re-stock for five, as well as that total on the receipt.

The next morning, the sun is up and so are the kids. They appear to be in relatively cheery moods. I’m feeling optimistic. I serve them a hearty breakfast (this tidbit will be important for when you start to wonder later if I ever feed them). We head to the store. List – check. Purse – check. Coupons – check.

We start down the baby aisle and my youngest immediately spots the snacks. NACK, NACK, NACK! My patience level is still high at this point and I’m feeling relatively calm. I still have tons to get, so I give in and grab the strawberry yogurt melts. My other daughter sees a little box of goldfish crackers on the end-cap and is instantaneously starving (clever location, Mr. Grocery, very clever!). I grab it and have now crossed two items off my list. I’m feeling good about my progress. Woo-hoo!

A short ten minutes later, I’ve cleaned up goldfish off the floor and only remnant yogurt crumbs remain in the other package. The good news is, if your child consumes an entire bag of yogurt melts, they have received almost half of their Vitamin A, C and E needs for the day! The bad news is that I still have almost a full grocery list yet to get.

I rev up my cart speed a notch (cautiously, of course) and basically just throw in whatever I can recall being on my list. I’m not sure where my list is anymore. I feel a bit frazzled because the girls are picking on each other and their voices are getting louder and louder and my daughter no longer has room to stand in the back of the cart. “I’m squanched in HERE!” she hollers. People are glancing my way. You know the glance.

“Whew, it is h-o-t in here!” I think to myself. But, I can smell the finish line…or is that a poopy diaper? Nah. The girls spot the Dum-Dum lollipops…on the end-cap…again. Oh, why not - they’re super duper small, right? So, I grab the bag and give one to each daughter. Four suckers later, they’re quiet (and sticky) and I breathe a sigh of relief.

I pull into the check-out lane…two hours after arriving. I pay and head to the car. Groceries – check. Purse – check. Coupons – check. Why do I still have my coupons? Ugh.

We get home and my older daughter asks me to close my eyes. She has a present for me and digs down deep into her princess bag. What could it be? A stale pretzel, the world’s smallest spider squished in a Kleenex, my missing floss, maybe? Nope. It’s a shiny nickel. “Here ya go! You’ve been an extra good mom today!"

And isn’t that just what we need to keep on keepin’ on? A tiny bit of encouragement or sweet “sMILEs” from those we love? There is a “MILE” between those S’s for a reason. It does go a long way! Heck, I’m even considering going back to the grocery store!

A Reminder From Merle

Merle reminded me of something. Who’s Merle? Merle was a wonderful black lab who turned 19 this past January, or in people-years…133! When he was just a month old, my sister-in-law took him to Nanny and Popo’s in a cardboard box on the backseat of her truck. “Silver Wings” was playing on the radio, so “The Hag” became this spunky pup’s namesake.

Merle was a homebody and never wandered off too far. Instead of hitching a ride on the back of PoPo’s truck, he preferred to run alongside it. I’m certain there is a direct correlation between all that running and his longevity, so I’m tying up my laces after I write this.

Merle was easy going. He didn’t seem to mind that the kids thought he looked extra cute sporting silly string and confetti on his head at Easter or that he was often caught in the middle of water balloon fights during the sizzling days of summer. Merle enjoyed many years of fresh, country air while chasing squirrels and sharing butterfly kisses with the barn cats.

My son thought Merle would never die because then he’d miss his evening bowl of “Merlie Stew,” which Nanny lovingly prepared for him without fail. “Merlie Stew” is a delectably warm mixture of soups, assorted canned dog food and homemade bread. Of course, the first time I smelled its aroma and saw the concoction bubbling on the stove, I was a little wary of what exactly we were having for Sunday dinner. I thought my daughter’s slobbery goldfish might have been a safer option at that moment.

So, my reminder came during an afternoon walk in early March. Merle was lying in the cool grass close to the front door of my in-laws’ house. When I opened the door to go outside, he mustered up enough energy to get his hind legs underneath him so he could go, too. Poor Merle couldn’t see or hear that well and had arthritis in most of his joints, like I surely will when I’m 133 years old.

I walked twice as long that day because I couldn’t get over the way Merle had perfectly positioned himself. Because he chose to stand at the crossroads, I was able to stop briefly, say, “Hey Merle!” and scratch his head for just a second. But…I was able to do it many, many times during this particular walk because of where he stood.

It made me think of how special people cross our paths at just the right times…on just the right days. Sometimes, they’re perfectly placed, aren’t they? Maybe it’s a friend to laugh with or tell us what we need to hear instead of what we want to hear. Maybe it’s a sibling, parent, daughter or son to lean on or lend an ear. Maybe it’s a neighbor who eases our burden some or it might be someone we’ve just met…on just the right day. It could be a simple smile, a long conversation, a quick e-mail, text or a card that we find in our mailbox…at just the right time.

When I was through with my walk, I headed back to the house. Merle was slowly making his way behind me. I smiled. If we take the time to stop and look around and think for just a minute - a chance meeting probably wasn’t by chance after all. Rest In Peace, ol’ boy - April 14, 2011.

Ordinary Days in Mommatown

I’m so proud to be a mom on Mother’s Day! But, I also savor the treasured title on the 364 days that lead up to it. Have you counted how many times your children say “Mom” in a single day? Well, it’s not just “Mom” though, right? What they actually say is, “Momma-watch,” “Momma-cumear,” “Momma-needu,” “Momma-wantu,” “Momma-hepme”…multiple times in a row, as if you cannot hear them. But when the day is done, I absolutely LOVE that they call me “Mom.”

I delight in the perfectly ordinary days in Mommatown. I take pleasure in the precious moments when they make me laugh uncontrollably. I like that my son thinks he needs to be 35 before he can start dating and I think it’s cute that he says he’s not getting married because he’s goin’ fishin’.

I marvel at how children make us aware of our weaknesses, too. It’s hard for me to get anywhere on time and I’m reminded of this when my daughter asks, “What does early mean, Mom?” Ugh.

I enjoy their honest, simple, from-the-heart answers. My mom was doing a baby animal pairing puzzle with my daughter and asks her, “What is the match for the dog?” looking for her to say “puppy.” My daughter boldly exclaims, “A chinchilla, a chinchilla!” I guess she’s watching a little too much Diego…

I couldn’t keep a straight face when my daughter kept asking for a “Chick-fil-A battery” and I finally understood what she meant. “Do you mean a triple A battery?” And, I wonder how many other moms have a burning desire to ask their youngest, “You wanna an egg roll with that?” because she persistently says, “Mo Hong, Hong, Hong” when she wants to listen to another song or “Hoi, Hoi, Hoi” when she wants to hold something?

I bask in the joy of amusement that my son honestly thinks all women who go to spas have to walk around with cool whip and pickles on their face. And, I guess I’ll never understand how my baby’s arms grew two inches overnight, enabling her to reach EVERYTHING in my bathroom. Why oh why did she cover her face with my last few sweet morsel drops of under-eye cream? I guess I’ll just use white-out in its place. Maybe no one will even notice.

There are a lot of questions in Mommatown, like why do my things always disappear? I can never find my Q-tips, floss, cotton rounds or Kleenex. They’re forever stuffed away in a Hello Kitty purse never to be seen again. Why on earth do my kids insist on cleaning my toothbrush with baby soap and lotion? Why are they overcome with insatiable hunger and unquenchable thirst the moment they hear the last click of the seat belt? And, finally, why do my offspring always have to go “number two” when port-a-potties are the only choice? Why?

All I have to say is that mothers are just plain awesome. Period. Show a mother you love her – laugh with her and make her smile! Do you want to start out your Mother’s Day feeling fancy? My Aunt Edie suggests you drink your morning OJ from a wine glass! Happy Mother’s Day!