by Adrienne Shelar

Created on: May 21, 2008   Last Updated: May 28, 2008

Sometimes, I wonder why I bother to leave my houseever! I am the mother of four young children, and the spouse of a steel mill worker who is on second shift. I frequently dream of selling my minivan and only going to the store insay, a little 2-door coupe, all alone. This is why.

It's a typical Thursday evening in my home. My older two children get off the bus at 3pm, and my babies wake up from their nap around 3:30pm. The older two play while I do a diaper change and then set out a snack and sit down to feed the baby. After snack we do homework and I try to start supper. Tonight, I am met with a note in a book bag that says, "Sure, you can send cupcakes for snack tomorrow!". Darn! I've forgotten to go buy the cupcakes for tomorrow's snack-a school-aged child with a birthday means cupcakes for the whole class, if you didn't know. So I load them all up and head to the local grocery, where I decide to pick up a few other things "since I'm there."

On the way, it begins to rain, and I groan. I get to the store, find the nearest parking spot, which is a good 500 yards from the door, and get out. I stand in the rain and stare at the empty cavern of my back minivan, in the space where my deluxe double stroller should be. The splurge of my last pregnancy, a complete necessity with two children who are under the age of 2 yrs old, it's a beauty. It's missing, however, and I'm stuck standing in the rain with all four children and no way to cart them through the store.

I finally decide on using my sling, and tuck the baby into it and go around to get out the toddler, only to realize that he's left his shoes between the house and the driveway AGAIN and the buggies are all soaking wet, so I swing him up onto the other hip and get plenty of stares on my way into the store. Finally I get him buckled into the cart and head off through the store. I get all the way to my last item before I run into a huge problem. The cupcakes don't fit into the cart with my other things! I ask a nice looking lady in the bakery to help me, and she smiles and says "of course!" On the way to the checkout though, I am treated to the normal "Sowow! You have four children. They're all really young too. Boy, you have your hands full. I'm so glad it isn't me. You must be so busy!" I bite my tongue and smile.

In the checkout line, where a bored looking cashier rings up the person in front of me VERY slowly, I bounce the baby and groan at my aching back. I notice the baby has spit up all over us both. Lovely! Then I finally get to put my groceries onto the conveyer belt, amid lots of "Stop that! Gabriel, don't hit your brother. Nicholas, don't yell at him. Katie Grace, come back here. Gabriel, don't kick Katie in the face! Katie, COME BACK HERE." And "Ma'am, he's got your bread" only to look back and see Gabriel massaging the bread. The cashier isn't nice enough to load my groceries or offer me help even though I obviously need it, and the kids are busy beating the crap out of each other.

Finallyfinally. I get them all loaded back into the van, get the groceries into the van with them, and sit down in relief. I lay my head on the steering wheel and try to ignore the smacks and punctuating "Hey!" going on in the back, and think longingly of bedtime and a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream hidden in the back of the van..or an extra set of arms.

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