We were having a perfectly good Wednesday play date at the café on post. Milo wasn’t pestering the big girls while they played with Barbies, two of my good friends were there to hang out with us, and my coconut milk latte was the perfect sipping temperature. Not to mention, I was able to drink the whole thing while it was still warm! It was simply splendid.
All good things come to an end…
After spending a couple hours in the café playroom, we took care of some post office errands and decided to hit up one of the local German grocery stores. I don’t mind going to the German stores on my own, but it’s much more fun, and less intimidating, when you have another adult to accompany you. So, my friend followed behind as we drove off post to the store. We parked, got the kids out of the car and headed toward the cart holding area.
And so the struggle begins…
Milo was showing signs of apprehension about getting into the cart, and as he was squirming, Zoe began to complain about being the one to put the coin into the cart retrieval coin slot. My friend’s 10-year-old daughter put the coin in before Zoe had voiced her opinion, so that was obviously the end of the world.
I thought to myself, please don’t let this be the beginning of a downward spiral!
I brushed off the coin-in-the-cart tantrum as best I could and ushered our group towards the automatic doors. To make things even more difficult, there in the doorway were those silly car-carts. They’re always situated just inside the store, as well as mini-carts for kids to use.
Are you kidding me?
There should be a warning sign for parents outside the doors that says “Blindfold your kids in order avoid melt-downs.” Zoe, of course, whined about getting one of the offending carts and I had to pull out the “Zoe, you’re 5, act like a big girl,” card, which I strongly dislike, because I know 5 is still little and I get it…she just wants to have fun in the grocery store.
Okay, let’s continue…
We barely make it to the produce section (the very first area in the store) when Milo has a panic attack…a.k.a. irrational tantrum…because I took my hands off of the cart (GASP!). I know. It’s horrifying. Both of my hands were completely off of the cart, and it didn’t help that little Milo was not the happiest of campers about having to sit in the cart in the first place. However, he knows darn well that he is not allowed to walk in grocery stores, so this should not have been a surprise. He’s a runner, by nature, and he’s also not the best participant in public situations unless he’s restrained…(cough) or, I mean, contained.
So far, this trip is going downhill
Milo is in hysterics as I do my best to quickly pick out the three adorable, tiny ceramic cups that I spied nearby. (Is having a cute little cup to catch the drips from my espresso machine too much to ask? I think not.) Mind you, my friend was standing right next to the cart, so it’s not like I left him alone…and I was literally three steps away. Plus, Milo knows this friend very well and normally has no problem if I am not near him. He’s a very friendly child…usually.
I’m regretting my choice to even stop at the store at this point.
So, here we are in a grocery store, Milo screaming his head off and, naturally, Zoe decides she desperately needs me to look at something that she found. I glanced at what she was holding. It was an ugly notebook with colored pens…and I already knew what she was going to say.
“Mom, I wish if I had a notebook like this.”
(Insert eye-roll here) If I had a dollar for every time Zoe “wished if” she had something, I would be a millionaire! I calmly tell Zoe that we are not buying toys or notebooks on this grocery trip and she proceeds to whine and moan about how she never gets to buy anything. You know, the typical five-year-old reaction when a parent says the dreaded N-O. I hurriedly turn back to the cart where offspring number two is still wailing and carrying on I make an attempt to settle him down, only to have offspring number one dramatically slow-walk behind me with tears about to stream down her face.
I promptly decided that we needed to leave.
I’ve used the, “you better stop or we will leave,” threat a number of times and it almost always works, but this time, I didn’t even offer that option. I swiftly grabbed Milo from the cart, firmly held Zoe’s hand and said a quick good-bye to our friends. Inconveniently, the exit of the store could only be reached by walking around a long aisle and past the woman at the check out counter. My kids were bawling, my face was red, but we made it to the doors and out to the car.
I could feel the heat on the back of my neck…
The whole time, my jaw was clenched and my heart was racing…I wasn’t sure if I was embarrassed or just angry, but I was not happy, that’s for sure. Zoe then had the nerve to ask if she could return the cart and get the coin before we left. I’m sorry, what?! You would like to go back into the store, take the cart that our friends are using and return it so that you can get the coin (which, mind you, is a plastic disc that goes on a keychain…it’s not even a coin.) I snapped a little, responding with, “Are you kidding me right now? Do you think your behavior deserves a coin, or anything for that matter?”
Safe and sound in the car…
I buckled the kids in the car, got myself in, and sat there for a moment taking deep breaths. The maniacs in the back seat were still going on and on, with tears and brief pauses to say they were “calmed down” and “ready to try again.” I texted my friend who was still in the store, and she graciously offered to buy the three little ceramic cups I picked out. Then, I apologized and told her we were heading home.
Let’s use this as a learning opportunity.
I attempted to lecture the kids about their behavior and making better choices, but I didn’t feel like they were hearing me. I ended by saying that there would be no tablet time for the rest of the day and that next time I went to the store they were not going to go with me. They started to cry even louder, so I turned up my music (Jack Johnson, the artist of the week at our house) and began the drive home.
It wasn’t five minutes into the drive that the tears stopped and I looked in the rearview mirror to see that they had both fallen asleep. I was immediately overcome with a feeling of guilt for being so angry with them when maybe they were just plain tired. Darn-it. They got the best of me yet again!
Just a mom and her music…
The rest of the ride home was therapeutic. I was jamming out to some of my favorite tunes and I enjoyed every second. The kids were snoring in the backseat, heads hung to the side. Milo had even fallen asleep with somewhat creepy half-open eyes, which was actually a little bit cute and made me smile. When I pulled into the garage, they both woke up, smiles on their faces, asking to help carry their backpacks inside.
Sighs of relief…
What a comfort it was to have two happy kids after such an unpleasant trip to the grocery store. Shoot. That reminds me, we still need toilet paper and avocados. Yes, that’s right, we went to the store for two items and came home with none.
MomSoldier on, my friends. These days will be few, and soon you will “wish if” they were many.
