I'm Done Sticking to Plans!
Today I had every intention of finishing the rest of my Christmas shopping with my little 13 month old in tow. I made a list, checked it twice and of course posted the "in the car selfie" to fill the rest of the world in on what we were doing, because they care...
Our shopping trip started out great, until we got to the actual shopping part... Store #1 and the whining had already started, and the Cheerios were being thrown from the stroller. The woman ringing me up at Anthropology clearly did not have children, her look of disgust and impatience told me this. I thought I had done a good job of cleaning up the Cheerios and Animal Crackers off their floor, so I'm not sure why she was so upset...and, I mean, their floors are wood anyway, it's not like we damaged them.
Store #2 prompted louder whining, which eventually led to a major fit being thrown while we were in line to check out. Surprisingly, I was laughing as he was screaming, while also telling him that Santa wasn't gonna bring him toys, because Santa doesn't like kids that cry. While I may have stretched that truth a little...it's okay, because Jude didn't understand me anyway, and I made myself laugh!
After the meltdown in store #2, I decided I would try to bribe my 1 year old, so that I could get my list done. So I paid the $3 for the carousel and around we went! He loved it! He was laughing and smiling and all was well again!
So there we sat at Red Robin, outside on the patio, for over an hour, coloring, eating chicken strips and French fries, feeding the birds and laughing a lot! It wasn't some big event or party or holiday, It was just an afternoon, on a Monday. And it was perfect.
With both of our bellies full I was able to get diapers from Target before he was again telling me how "over this" he was. On the way home I thought about how the day went. I only got a couple things on the long list, but I spent an afternoon with Jude that I don't think I'll ever forget. It got me thinking that slow and un-planned is REALLY REALLY good! I don't want to ever miss Jude laughing at the birds, or discovering how to old his "big kids" cup at a restaurant! From now on, I'm not sticking to plans, because my plans don't matter anyway. I think I could hear God laughing when I said that! He's probably like, "Well, duh!!!!" I'm so grateful to be a mom, and for this life. Today was a reminder to stop putting so much focus on planning the Big things, and to just live in the crazy moments and remember the every-day things!
P.S. Don't think that I've totally embraced the whole whining, loud child thing. I'm currently writing this as I sit in my car, because Jude is napping in the back, and the silence is Bliss! xoxo
