It Has Been Too Long!

A while back, maybe a year ago now, Blythe and I went grocery shopping at Wal-Mart and I made a comment that I missed grocery shopping with my mother.  Not that I wasn't looking forward to shopping with Blythe, but we saw a little boy walking in with a woman (I assume it was mom, but you never know), and all the sudden I remembered that feeling of grocery shopping with my mom.  There's something special about walking into a grocery store where everything feels so big, and you have to hold mom's hand because you know if you let go and she rounds that one corner without you. . . you're done!!  I can't tell you how many times I got lost in a grocery store or a department store while shopping with my mom when I was growing up.  Well, thank God, we all grow up.

But, today, I got to go grocery shopping with my mother again.  Circumstances are obviously VERY different than the last time we shopped together.  I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that I think the last time my mother and I did this together had to be fifteen years ago.  At least!  I can assume that in that experience fifteen years ago, it was probably after and she had just picked me up from school or baseball practice, or we were possibly on the way from school to baseball practice, and I was probably being a weird Emo teenager who was tired of being in junior high.   It is probably also safe to assume that I was being a huge brat to mom about why I had to go with her.   Junior high was rough for me.   (I think junior high is probably rough for all of us?!)

Today was a very different experience.  At least, I HOPE that I wasn't being a brat.  :)  Like I've mentioned in my other posts this month, Blythe still has work until Thursday of this week.  While she is out, I am trying so hard to be Super-Dad, and Super-Husband and do everything I can around the house.  I've been fairly successful, I think.  I felt good about my abilities as a dad and husband until yesterday when she mentioned that I should take Carter out with me and we should go do our family grocery shopping.  Over the last few years,  I have grown to HATE grocery shopping!!!!  I really do hate it!!!!  It is one of my least favorite things to do in this world.  Especially when I go on my own.  I have no idea where anything is, and then I just get frustrated because I have to keep walking around along with the other interesting people that inhabit Wal-Mart.  (You know the "interesting people" that I'm talking about!)  Although, as Carter has gotten older, he's gotten more pleasant at the grocery store.  Last time Blythe and I went, we got this picture:

How could anyone be too upset when they see this face?!

Well, yesterday I mentioned to my mother that I'd love to get together with her to go to lunch and hear about her and my dad's recent trip to Ireland.  (Dad, thanks for the hat!!)  After lunch I mentioned that I didn't get to do my grocery shopping this morning, and my amazing mother just mentioned that she didn't mind going with me and helping.  Actually, she also offered to go home with Carter and let me go and shop on my own.  Well when she offered to go with me, that conversation with Blythe from a while back popped into my head, and I realized that I HAD to take her up on the offer of going with me!!!  As crazy as this is, the three of us actually had a great time grocery shopping today!   Carter was very pleasant and didn't act like the brat that his daddy probably was at his age, and we were able to get in and out pretty quickly thanks to the detailed, and well-arranged list that Blythe put together.     (I can't believe I am this excited about a productive day of grocery shopping!)

As we were pulling into the Wal-Mart parking lot, I told my mom about me telling Blythe a while back that I said that I had missed grocery shopping with mom.  She said she didn't believe me, but that I would probably miss it because "Everyone likes being taken care of."   All I can say to that is:  Mom, thanks for taking care of me today!!

Peace Out,
Luke