Keeping Me Grounded

You can always count on kids to keep you grounded and humble, right? Well, at least I can. Maybe your kids are different and if that is the case you should stop reading right now. After I dropped off Hadley at preschool, Kate and I went on a mission to find a light weight jacket for Hadley. After looking at Gottshalks and Shopko I decided to stop at Sears. Soon after entering the store I realized why I stick with the the "mart" stores like KMart and Walmart, etc. Because they have SHOPPING CARTS which act as corrals on wheels. Kate was shoeless (her princess sandals were left in the car) so this made her especially stealthy. I found a jacket for Hadley quickly but then I started looking for baby clothes for my friend Colleen's new baby girl. Oh sweet Jesus are those baby clothes DARLING! I am absorbed with looking at all the sweet little pink outfits but I am keeping an eye out for Kate, she is hiding inside the clothing racks and loving it. But soon she becomes very bold for a wild coyote pup. She starts straying farther and farther from her mama. And as soon as I call her and start to try and track her down she bolts. I can only track her by watching for clothes to move on racks, she is quiet as a mouse with her shoeless baby feet. And if I caught sight of her she SHRIEKS with delight and sprints off. I am in a full sweat by now. I am one of those mothers with the out of control child in the store. The kind I scoffed at before I had my own pups. There is no doubt that a large majority of their wildness must stem from lack of quality parenting but surely some of it is genetic?? It couldn't have been from me, I was a mouse when I was little. A sassy mouse but still a mouse. I don't think I would have ever gotten out of sight from my mom. And Doug wasn't much different. Nature vs nurture is weighing very heavily on the side of nurture right now. Oh lordy. So I finally catch her, and believe me it wasn't easy. I am paying for my purchases and I have told Kate to stay close by. She darts off again but I can see where she is hiding, inside another clothes rack in the ladies department. And soon she comes back WITHOUT her tights or diaper. OH MY GOD!! WHY ME?? So, with sweat starting to roll down my back, I go on a diaper hunt. And she pretends to know where it might be. Yeah, right. I don't want to tell you how long we looked in the aisles and under hanging clothes before I finally just decided to cut my losses and head out the door in shame. I said a silent apology for whoever finds her tights and diaper and whatever else might be included in that little package.