why am i doing this again?

This afternoon I went to the grocery store and, since I didn’t have a grocery list, I leisurely walked up and down the aisles, carefully choosing what I wanted to buy.  What makes this different is that both of my kids were with me.  I haven’t happily meandered up and down the aisles of a grocery store with both kids since NEVER.  Never, in the five years since we brought home our first baby, have I felt calm enough to take my time at the grocery store when someone else is with me.  There have always been naptimes and feeding times and grumpy times and potty breaks to contend with.

But today, with both of my children old enough to no longer necessitate the working of my schedule around their nap times and feeding times and grumpy times, I walked around the store while they took turns pushing the cart.  In six months this ease will be over.  Baby Tres will once again tie me to a strict schedule of naps and feedings and I will once again be hurrying around the store, grocery list in hand, so rushed that I won’t be able to compare prices of tomato sauces.

So why am I doing this baby-thing again?  Life is so easy now.

Oh yeah, it’s because I’m getting a strict schedule, yes, but I’m also getting a squishy-cheeked baby who I’ll love with all my heart and cuddle and watch while it sleeps and burps and giggles at G and Little Missy.  And three to five years of hurried grocery shopping is a small price to pay for that bundle of happiness.