Children and Grocery Shopping (cont'd)

You guessed it; I took my kids grocery shopping—a task I absolutely dread. The entire job takes about four hours to complete with the kids. It is a harrowing experience for all involved.

In an attempt to make things go more smoothly today, I had a grocery list. But the list became irrelevant with the kids thrown into the mix. Thirty minutes into the job, I had no idea what was left on my list or what was in my cart. My head spun as I watched my kids run circles around me, while I attempted to select a crisp head of lettuce.

If you have never had the pleasure of a trip to the grocery store with kids, I don’t recommend it. In fact, avoid it at all costs. Generally, I do avoid it, but every once and awhile I convince myself that my children are older now, and it won’t be sooooo bad. After today’s experience, I am wondering whether I fried my brain in the sun on my recent vacation or have simply gone mad. Either would explain my lapse in judgment.

Usually I avoid the fiasco of shopping with kids by getting up at 6 a.m. to grocery shop. I get the job done in record time while my husband is getting ready for work and the kids sleep. Occasionally, I have even blown a Saturday morning in an effort to complete the task in peace. Oh sure, for short trips to pick up a handful of items, I break down and take the troops along. But, now, I have truly learned that it is best to go it alone on a major shopping trip like today.

I did not follow my own advice, and I paid the price. Groceries spilled out of my cart. With no room left in the cart, my two-year-old ran free, an especially scary scene in the liquor aisle (with so much glass). Luckily, there were no major incidents today. Just the usual, “Mommy, I have to pee� perfectly delivered at the furthest point in the store from the bathrooms. Then a second child asked, “Can I have these? Can I open them now? Yuk! I don’t like these! Can I pick something else?� All the while the other kids were running and screaming in the aisles, bumping into people, touching and rearranging products (which explains the can of carrots found on a shelf next to the tampons), and searching for a lost, opened can of Pringles (finally discovered in the frozen food case next to the Popsicles).

A number of people smiled at, talked to, and were generally amused by my crazy kids, which left me confused. Normally, it is a good thing when other people enjoy my children, but given their miserable behavior…did they not notice how obnoxious my kids were? Did they not see how disruptive my little beasts behaved? Did they not remember how difficult shopping with young children is or have they never had the pleasure? Maybe they did remember and the smile was actually a smirk, I thought. Maybe it was kindness; by talking to my child, the stranger was actually trying to buy a distressed mom an extra 30 seconds to decide whether to choose the Juicy Juice that is 100% juice, but not on sale or the Hi-C that is not 100% juice, but half the price. Maybe they were amused because they were thinking, “I am so glad that I am not her right now.� Maybe it brought back pleasant memories of shopping trips with their kids (from my frame of reference, this is not at all likely). I highly doubt that grocery shopping will top the list of my fond memories and fun times with my children. I guess you never know.

Once, on a past shopping trip, an older woman approached me, gently touched my arm, and said, “Honey, enjoy them now. They will be grown before you know it.� I appreciated her comment; however, I am quite certain that “enjoy your children� and “grocery shopping� do not belong in the same sentence. Not today, anyway.



Advice: For the sake of your sanity, find ways to grocery shop without your children

An excerpt from Life as a Mommy: Insight, Advice, & Ponderings of a Typical Mom by Cathy Spigarelli. Ms. Spigarelli is a mother of three and lives in Green Bay, WI. The book is available at online booksellers, in stores (have it ordered if not on the shelves) and at http://www.cathyspig.com/