#SuperMom
As a mom of two, I am still trying to figure out how to balance my time with a toddler and an infant. It is such a huge process to pack a diaper bag, snacks for Mason, gather the things we need for our outing and get the kids in the car. Gone are the days of throwing on yoga pants, pinning my hair back and jumping in the car to run an errand. Between breastfeeding, lunch and naptime, and potty breaks, my time for running errands is limited. Many times I find myself stressed out, breastfeeding in the back seat of the car or rushing to finish my tasks before Mason gets overtired and has a melt down in public. Today was no exception.
The start of the day wasn’t bad. We had breakfast, I got the kids dressed and packed the diaper bag for our big excursion. On our list of to do’s was; a doctor’s appointment for both kids (shots and all) and winter clothes shopping; simple, right? Or at least that was what I thought.
The shots at the doctor’s office went okay, aside from Mason kneeing the male nurse in the crotch while receiving his flu shot. After the shots Mason got a sucker and we were on our way to shop for clothes. Normally, I would never take Mason with me as he is a high energy kid who loves to take things off shelves, test out the latest sporting gear or very quickly run away from me into a crowd (I’ve heard many times that this is how boys and three year olds are in general-lucky for me, Mason is both). This time however, I had to have him with me. Mason had recently gone through a growth spurt and I really had no clue what size he was, I needed him there to be able to try things on to make sure they fit properly.
[Mason and Malia at the Dr.'s office before their shots]
Once parked at the mall, and Malia was snapped into her stroller, I put Mason on the ground he began complaining that his leg hurt. Since we were nearing lunch and naptime, I was not sure if this was just him doing the normal “tired routine,” or if his leg actually hurt. I knew I had about a half hour of time to get my shopping done before this turned into a full-blown melt down. We went to the mall map and looked for our destination. As luck would have it, we parked on the exact opposite side of where we needed to be. As we began our trek, I noticed that Mason was now limping and whining quite a bit about the pain in his leg. For a split second I thought about turning around and heading back to the car, but decided against it. I was there, and we were doing this.
I picked up my over-sized 3 year-old, adjusted my hands on the stroller and began pushing toward our targeted location. I began to sweat a little, but thought what great exercise I was getting, and pushed on.
Once we arrived at the store I put Mason down and he limped inside. I quickly headed to the sales rack to see if they had what we needed. As soon as I could place my hands on a pair of jeans, Mason had to pee. I let out a deep sign and prayed to God that a pooping session would not come along with it (see Building a Log Cabin for a more detailed explanation). After Mason had used the restroom (pee only), he was becoming more agitated. He began to cry loudly about his sore leg, about being tired, and hungry and wanting his blankey. I had to act fast before things got out of hand.
I grabbed a snack for Mason (these are awesome for busy mama’s and toddlers on the go), sped shopped and was ready for checkout within fifteen minuets. I must admit I was feeling pretty proud of myself for managing the situation and finding exactly what I needed in a short amount of time. We went to the register, checked out and headed back for the car.
By the time we got out of the store Mason was unraveling- crying, yelling and being completely melodramatic. I picked up my boy and prepared myself for the journey back to the car. Along the way Mason would look at me and say things like “Good job Mama, I know this is hard for you,” “You are the best Mama ever,” “Mama, I love you, thank you for taking care of me.” His little encouragements kept me pushing on under the hot sun. Each step I could feel myself getting closer to the victory line. For a moment my thoughts turned to the Israelites and how they must have felt wondering the desert for forty years. I imagined that those with children must have gone through exactly what I was experiencing.
Once the car was in sight I was overjoyed and physically tired from carrying Mason. I put him down and told him he needed to walk the rest of the way there. All of a sudden my boy dropped to the ground and cried out “I just can’t do it Mama! I am not going to make it. Just leave me!” It took everything within me to keep from laughing. I knew his leg hurt, but I could tell that this dramatization was much more tiredness than pain. Plus, I was doing everything in my power to get him home and get him comfortable. But now, here he was, lying on the sidewalk sobbing his little face off. Many people were walking by as the scene unfolded. A nice elderly couple stopped and asked if they could be of assistance. I politely declined, picked Mason up once more and resumed the walk.
We had finally made it to the car. I wiped the sweat from my brow as Mason cheered. He then thanked me for carrying him and kissed me on the cheek. I buckled both kids into the car and booked it home. As I drove I could not help but ask myself if I am the only mom in the world that this kind of stuff happens to?
As I sit here and reflect on what happened today, I’ve come up with a list of things I’ve learned from this incident: 1. Avoid doing anything else on a day that your children receive shots, 2. Do not go to shopping malls when your toddler is tired and hungry (and had a shot), 3. Make sure to pack lots of snacks; they come in handy when in a pinch and 4. Arm workouts are always a great idea. You never know when you will have to carry your toddler, push a stroller and walk a mile up hill with no shoes (okay not the last part, but you get the idea.)
