Someday I’m Going Shopping By Myself

Image by billykaren519 / Flickr.com

I know every mother understands how frustrating a trip to the store can be with children in tow. Our excursion last week wasn’t really that terrible, but I was suffering from a head cold and needing some serious sleep.  Somehow all the chaos seemed to be magnified ten-fold.  My oldest daughters wanted to visit the toy aisle really bad so they could spend some of the money they’d saved. They kept asking, “Can we go to the toys NOW?”  My little boy has this thing for dancing in the aisles, so I kept yelling, “Ethan, please stop dancing.  Watch out for the other carts!  Don’t knock over the display!”  Plus, my baby has figured out how to maneuver inside those straps in the cart seat so he can reach into the basket and throw everything out.

By the end of our visit, I said (a little too loudly), “Someday I’m going shopping by MYSELF!”  I think I hurt my children’s feelings a little–they really weren’t being that difficult. They quieted down and helped me get checked out, and finally we made it home for dinner and bedtime. Since I wasn’t feeling well, I let my nine-year-old stay up a little late to help me unload our trunk and put all our purchases away.  It was then that I learned a powerful lesson.

Alia took a box of cereal out of a bag and said, “Yeah, it will be nice when you get to go shopping alone. Then you won’t have anyone begging you to buy the kind of cereal that has a prize in it.”  She then brought out the green shirts we’d gotten for St. Patrick’s Day.  “And you won’t have to buy three little green shirts for your children to wear so they won’t get pinched.”  Finally, she brought out some new rubber duckies we’d bought for the bathtub.  “And you can totally skip the toy aisle.”

As I looked over at the bags and saw how my purchases reflected the sweetness of our family life, I thought, “The day I go shopping by myself is going to be horrible!  I’m going to miss this so much!” Even thinking about that experience brings back that sick feeling I get when I realize this time with my children is going too fast.  I gave Alia a hug and helped clean up the empty sacks, and then I promised myself that even if my children dance throughout the whole store, ask for things they can’t have, or throw embarrassing things out of my cart, I won’t waste one more minute of our time together wishing they were gone.

QUESTION: Have you ever had an eye opening moment and realized that even though children can bring chaos they can also bring a bundle full of love?

CHALLENGE: To get through a crazy, chaotic moment and realize someday you’ll miss it.

About April Perry

April Perry is the wife to her best friend, Eric, and mother to Alia, Grace, Ethan, and Spencer. In addition to the work she does within her family, she hopes to strengthen others through her projects at Power of Moms and LearnDoBecome.April's "Why" is this: To architect a life of excellence--centered on family and moving upward towards God--with a beautiful balance of spiritual, mental, and physical development that enables others to do the same.