Off and running

Today was what I call a Mommy Mental Health Day. It’s a day when my mom looks after my children for me while I get to go “play.” It’s not a complete child-free day because I still have baby Lucy with me. But she’s easy, I just put her in the stroller and off we go.

Soon after my husband left to take the three eldest children to my mother’s, I left the house with a long list of things to accomplish. There are certain tasks I like to do without everyone with me. Like browsing in Khol’s.

Browsing is not the same as regular shopping. Browsing has no real goal, it’s looking for a good deal and taking your time. This is why most men hate shopping, men want to shop and get out of the store while their wife or girlfreind wants to browse. Big difference.

Two-month-old Lucy is a great browsing companion. She is strapped in the stroller so she can’t run away, hide under the clothes racks or ask to go to see the toys. It’s times like these when I wish babies would stay little for a longer time.

My first store is Border’s Books and Music. I have a 25% off coupon that I want to use before it expires. How many coupons have I wasted because I forgot I had them? I pick up the unabridged readings of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series. I’ve wanted it for awhile and the coupon is a good excuse to buy it.

I also buy a Father’s Day gift for Doc that I hope he will like.

Next is lunch. Eating a meal without having to cut someone else’s food into smaller pieces or mopping up a spill is a rare event, so I’m looking forward to it. No McDonald’s kids fare today. I have a very adult-like salad with grilled chicken, mandarin oranges topped with a sweet sauce.

The restaurant has four other small children in it and surprisingly all are content. Even though I just nursed her, Lucy is fussy, so I push the stroller back and forth to comfort her.

After lunch it’s to Khol’s and then the doctors for Lucy’s check-up. One more stop before home is Target. Gone are the days when I could shop for birthday presents with the birthday child in the store. Since Susan is with my mother, I go into the toy section to look for her gifts.

It was a good day. My children love being with their grandmother and I get a chance to do errands only with the baby to look after. It’s funny though - when I’m without my own children I spend a lot of time noticing other peoples children. Maybe in my heart I was longing to get back to being a mommy of many instead of a super shopper.