Yesterday I took my kids grocery shopping. If you want an adrenaline rush, skip the bungee jumping or luging- just take my three kids to Walmart! There is ALWAYS someone who melts down during shopping (hint: it's not me!) Add this stress to the dirty looks I get while toting around a shrieking toddler/infant/both, and I'm either burning calories at lightning speed or I'm setting myself up for coronary failure. I once had an elderly woman ask me: "Is that your child?" I felt like saying, "No, I just randomly bring screaming kids that aren't mine around here, just for the fun of it!" I now treat shopping for food like an obstacle course, and I'm racing against myself and the time it took me before. In and out in 45 minutes-that's a record!
Anyway so after I pull into our apartment complex and park, I arrange for Swaylynn to take Hailley up the stairs while I get the groceries up. Our apartment is on the second floor, so this is also an exercise in speed: hurry up and get my stuff upstairs before Hailley notices the gate is down and wanders over to the staircase (and I have a heart attack!) Sway is an excellent helper, and usually occupies her little sister while I do the heavy lifting. Yesterday, however, Sway came out after me because she had to bring in her backpack. I was loading up my arms with bags from the trunk already-as many as my noodle biceps can handle. Sway comes around the other side of the car and says to me, "Can you please put my coat on your head and carry it in? My arms are full." I look at my daughter. She has her backpack and her coat, both of which she could put on and carry inside, and she wants me to help her?
"Sway look at all the stuff I'm carrying!" I huff as I turn to go inside. No way I'm adding to the teetering load I now am balancing. This is what I hear behind me, coming from the mouth of my eight-year old:
"Oh, you are fine. That's what you always tell me when I have a bunch of stuff to carry, so I guess now it's my turn to tell you- you are fine!"
I laughed all the way inside and up the stairs. I guess I had that coming.
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