I had the pleasure of taking a two-year-old grocery shopping one cold, dreary day. The only bright spot was the lone automobile/shopping cart we found on the parking lot. I wiped it dry and loaded her up. As we progressed through the store, she found many strange and wonderful things thoughtfully displayed within her reach. Sadly, I had to deny her hearts-delight: steak knives, fireplace matches, cat toys, and a twenty-seven dollar toy trumpet.It was a disaster when we stumbled into the toy aisle. She scooped several toys into the cart. To avoid tears, I shamelessly deposited the culled items in an empty grocery cart as I steered her toward something that met three important criteria. It would hold her interest till we got through the check-out line. It wouldn’t get me in trouble with her parents. Last of all, it wouldn’t bankrupt me.
Finally, we were done. Over her protests, I got her zipped in her hooded jacket and wheeled her toward the parking lot, clasping her toy. I would have enjoyed waiting for icy rain to stop, but I wanted to get her out of the store. I struggled to steer the cumbersome buggy across the bumpy parking lot. I breathed a sigh of relief as I opened the car door and buckled her in the car seat. She was happily unwrapping her lollipop as a woman with a small boy parked next to us. Remembering how anxious my little one was to find the fancy cart, I asked the woman. “Ma’am, do you want this car buggy for your little boy?”
I might as well have stabbed my little guy in the heart. She wailed tragically as the boy’s mother loaded him in “her” buggy. I’ve had better days.
nutsrok.wordpress.com 