Fear and Running
So it happened. For the first time, I had to leave the grocery store without the groceries. I abandoned ship. Leaving my basket full of items needed, on the floor, next to the bananas.
It’s my fault really. I was being selfish. Wanting to get too much accomplished in a day when both the kids had minimal car naps, and there was plenty of snot dribbling down noses. But we needed eggs, bread, yogurt, coffee filters, something for dinner and.. oh I really needed vanilla coffee creamer.
O and M got new tiny baby dolls at Target during one of our other errands earlier in the day. O got the purple one, M the pink. O decided they needed to come on our afternoon errands which started at a transition visit to O’s new school and was supposed to be followed by a grocery shop. They came in the stroller (the baby dolls). Despite a minor protest, they “took a nap” in the car during our visit. The visit went great. O didn’t want to leave (clue 17 my plan was doomed from the start.) Then I had a difficult time wrangling O back into the car (clue 18). We parked next to what looked -to toddler eyes- like a park—- after some creative game playing “i can get to the edge of the grass by the car faster than you!” we were on our way to our final errand of the day. M fell asleep instantly, O almost did (clue 28).
But I was determined.
I managed to keep M asleep in the transfer from carseat to beco. O wanted to push her stroller and the babies. I said no. Her choices were to bring them without the stroller, or they had to stay in the car. A major negotiation followed, culminating in me agreeing to allow her to bring the stroller with the babies if she stayed close to me and practiced good listening in the store.
How old do I think my child is?
Initially it went well. There were awesome people in the store. We avoided running people over. She sorta helped pick out the items. A lemon, a hothouse cucumber…
And then she got cocky. Pulling down bags of nuts, loaves of bread (clues 88, 89, and 90-99)… with my basket slowly getting full to the brim I decided it was cart time. I enlisted O to come and help me pick one out, she didn’t really want to leave the store, but with a reminder of what was required for her stroller to continue to be under her control, we adventured outdoors, leaving (we thought momentarily) our groceries by the bananas…
I got the cart, and though I would let her push her stroller around a little. This trader joes is conveniently located on the top floor of an outdoor mall so there were very few people and no cars to contend with. Safe for a fun stroller push.
But after ramming the stroller into the wall a couple times… and after I calmly ask her if she wants to go back to the store she gives me a sly smile, and before I can say vanilla creamer she takes off.
Now. You know there is a delicate balance here. If I run after her, she thinks it’s a game and runs faster. If I don’t follow she could end up anywhere. I decide to walk in her general direction trusting that my pace will make her slow down and stop and that she will stay in my line of vision. Because who likes to be chased if you can’t see who’s chasing you?
Apparently my daughter because as I turn a corner she is NO.WHERE.IN.SIGHT!
Panic mode.
“O!!!!”
It’s amazing how many thoughts can go through your mind in a few desperate, panic filled seconds.
So now I’m running, and yelling and as I round the next corner I see her. She sees me. And she runs faster.
But still I’m thinking, she knows STOP! She’ll hear the seriousness in my voice. Right?
No. She’s LAUGHING. And then because she isn’t looking where she is going, she hits a wall and falls, allowing me to get closer so that when she’s up and about to take off around the next corner which LEADS TO THE STREET.
I catch her.
And I am all sorts of relieved and pissed.
I calm down enough to sit her down and have a chat.
And I didn’t yell, and I looked her in the eyes, and I used age appropriate language and I think she got it. As much as any 2.5 year old can.
Got that not listening to mommy means the stroller stays at home. That stop means stop. That these types of shenanigans have consequences. Including, but NOT limited to, abandoning our groceries to come home.
This morning we had pretty much nothing for breakfast. O wanted and ate a stale piece of bread. M had rice krispies and prunes. I had my coffee without my creamer, filtered through a paper towel. When I remark on the fact that we have no food O wonders aloud “what happened to our groceries.”
“I don’t know O, why did we have leave them.”
“I ran away from Mommy.”
“Yes honey, you did.”
And I hope she never does it again.
((image via))
