Maybe I Really Am Making Progress...

This pic is from his 2nd birthday :)

Grocery day. Always a day that I both love and dread. Love because shopping only once a week means a distinct lack of produce by the time Thursday rolls around. Dread because it is just me and the bubs, regardless of his mood that day, followed by hauling an endless stream of bags down our stairs. Sometimes I think back to when shopping was fun... there are definitely financial benefits to it being a huge pain now though. I shop way less.

Anyhow, this morning I buckled A into the cart, and we were off. He was in an okay mood until there was no one to give him a sticker. Then we found a new notebook for him and he was absolutely furious that I didn't have crayons. Big crocodile tears. This caught me off guard because he never cries in the store. His shopping antics are usually more giddy than grumpy. For a moment I actually considered just paying for what we had and leaving. I knew it had to get done, though, so I fished out a pen and let him go to town in the notebook, hoping no one cared that it was covered in scribbles before we paid for it.

As I shopped, he tired of the notebook and started grabbing stuff out of the car and building towers. We had to stop every few minutes for me to collect the flying items, but at least he was happy. One giant load of groceries later, we headed to the front of the store. I grabbed an empty cart on my way to the checkout, and parked it by the bagging spot. I started loading items onto the belt, catching the ones bubs tossed up there (he loves this part these days) and quickly moving them to the right spot. As I worked on this, I was oblivious to the two checkers watching me.

When I finally looked up, the girl checking me out said "You have got this down to a science!" I seriously wanted to laugh. A lot. At that moment I felt frazzled and exhausted, just praying we made it to the van without breaking the bank and hoping my sore arm muscles from lifting weights could handle today's haul. I flashed back to those crocodile tears, flying cans, and other various antics from this trip. And for a moment, I wanted to hug that sweet checker girl. Because most days I feel like a big old mess... just trying to make it through the day. It felt good to think that someone thought I was doing okay.

Of course now I am sitting at home, listening to Aiden make a mess of his lunch and making a mental list of the things I forgot on our shopping trip this morning. I am anxiously awaiting the silence of naptime, and that brief period of time when I can take a deep breath or two and be still. Being a mom is not an easy job, and aside from the occassional compliment froma stranger there is very little recognition. So I will revel in that simple remark during naptime today, and remind myself that overall my family is healthy and happy so I am obviously doing something right!