One of 'Those'.

I shouldn't have attempted it. I should have had back up. I should never have gone in alone.

I juuuuust needed one thing though.

You've heard that before right? Have you ever gone into a store and bought one thing?

That has NEVER happened to me. Ever.

I never wanted to be one of those moms that brought their kids to the store,
kicking and screaming, and flinging their heads backs with temper tantrums.

You know...while people stare and whisper in the aisle over, 'if that was my kid...'

So I avoided it.

With three kids, the odds are not good that it will be a pleasant experience.

For some reason I must have been feeling quite invincible this particular day.

Adryanna needed a white plain tee shirt for field day.

How hard could it be?!

Just grab the tee shirt and go.

An hour later, with little Miss. V buried up to her eyes in an over flowing cart,
we were heading towards the check out line when it happened.

Wailing. Screaming. Hysterics.
A temper tantrum.

I turned, and in horror I see it was MY child.
And he was pissed.

Not only was he pissed, the girls caught on quickly too.

Not that I condone beating your children. But I certainly can understand it at times ; )

 I couldn't think quick enough, so I did the most logical thing at the time.
I opened up a box of cookies from the nearest shelf to shut them up.
And no I didn't have one. Although looking back now, I think it could have pacified me too.

I'm a bad mother.  

I know.
But whatever.

I have seen moms do this in the past and I have judged you.

I'm sorry.

I couldn't understand why your kids couldn't behave. 

I couldn't believe that you didn't come prepared with *gasp* food or bottles for your freakin' screaming kids.
I didn't think it was fair that we all had to suffer hearing the high pitched screams through out the store because you didn't have it together.

I stood on line with my items thrown carelessly on the conveyor belt as I tried to herd (yes, herd...like animals) Vienna and Adryanna who were playing ring around the rosy in the middle of a busy aisle.

My son had cookie pieces in his hair, on his face, all over his outfit and on me.

The cashier was probably the slowest (insert explicit language here) cashier I have ever had.
I watched the line grow longer and saw two pretty young things that stood behind me.
They were texting and making idle chit chat with one another while they watched from the corner
of their eye what my crazy kids were doing.

Between bagging, getting the stuff in the cart and keeping track of my kids,
I noticed they came in for one thing. 
Suntan lotion.
I also noticed at that point that the one thing I came in for, wasn't even on the $#@^  belt! 

I sighed loud. I couldn't help myself.

The look of pity was on all the faces around me.

I really didn't know whether to laugh or cry when one of the girls smiled politely at me as if she felt sorry.

'I never thought I was going to be one of those mothers', I said.
With that they began to laugh.

It was meant to be funny, but for some reason I just felt bad.
Defeated, disheveled, and disheartened. 

I turned back to my little man who at that moment looked right at me and put his

chubby one year old hand to his mouth and went,

'mmmmmmwahhhhh'
as loud as his voice could carry the sound...

and blew me a kiss.

The 'awwww's around me were audible.
I smiled, and so did he.
He knew, I think, that I needed it.

I turned back...and finished a sentence, but with a renewed outlook.
'I never thought I was going to be one of those mothers...

but I'm so glad  I am.'


p.s.

When you walk out of Walmart without a plain white tee shirt because they didn't have any (in the kids, women's or men's section) something is amiss. Seriously. They were 'all out'. That's what they said!
Walmart use to be 'one of those' ; ) places where you can get something simple like that.
Instead I walked out with my grocery shopping done, and vegetables
from their new fresh foods department they have now.
I know.
I have no idea what the world is coming to either.