Dad walks over, picks him up and attempts to comfort his wailing child. Out of nowhere comes another mom to the rescue.
Oh my goodness! I saw that. That looks bad. Here- you can have our ice pack. And here's some Neosporin, just in case the skin is scratched.
Naturally, my attention shifts from screaming child to Super Mom.
 |
| She sorta looked like this. |
You carry around an ice pack and Neosporin? Really? Great. Another parenting feat I'm failing at. I never have an ice pack and Neosporin. I don't even think I have those things at home. I'm not even sure we own any Band Aids.
I begin to scan the park. Off to the right is one mom, with a giant bag of toys. Her kids are building sand castles in the corner, near the swings. I swear there wasn't sand there yesterday. Did they bring their own?
And there is a mom with the checkered picnic blanket and a basket full of snacks. Seriously- it's a real picnic basket. The kind Yogi Bear steals. I want to send Lucien over to the cornucopia of goodness- but I'm not sure she would approve. How did she carry that basket, push a stroller, and get not one but TWO kids to the park?
Oh, and those children are making a sidewalk chalk mural. Seriously. The thing is gorgeous. How old are they?
The only thing I've brought to the park is my purse. There isn't even a snack in it. Or a diaper. I look down at my empty-handed child. I swear he's been scanning the park, too. He looks up at me, as if to say, Really, mom? Didn't you think, even for a second, that maybe I'd like an organic fruit snack, too?
I'm always amazed at the parents who are fully armed with an arsenal of goodies to keep their children entertained. They are obviously equipped with some kind of organizational skills that I don't have. It's sort of akin to my friend who keeps a go-bag ready, in case the zombie apocalypse happens. He is definitely organized enough to effectively procreate and rear a child- but I'm pretty sure he's sworn not to. I've always been comforted by the fact, that if indeed the zombie apocalypse does happen- I can be on his team. Maybe I should approach parenting in the same way. Success by association.
Wow. That is an amazing picnic basket! Hi. I'm Maria... and this is my son Lucien.
I may not know what the hell I'm doing- but I'm pretty sure I just saw Lucien wink at me.
Some of us are organizers and some of us are the ones who can spot an opportunity-- folks who can spot an opportunity don't have to carry as much shit around with them!
ReplyDeleteI feel like a car would solve everything.
ReplyDeleteI used to be a better mother, now I'm just tired. We bought an after market center console for our car, i kept it stocked with organic snacks, juice boxes, wipes; now it's packed full of DVDs and starbursts to keep the kids quiet in the car :)
ReplyDeleteHa!
DeleteJust yesterday I took my 18-month old to the park to play and not 15 minutes into the trip he needed a diaper change. Did I have a clean diaper with me? Of course not. Luckily, I had some wipes in my car that were only there because I used them on the way to the babysitters and forgot to put them back in the diaper bag. I wiped him as clean as I could, put the old diaper back on and let him continue to play so I would have to deal with the tantrum that would ensue if we left the park right away. He's still alive and kicking one whole day later, so I figure he's gonna be alright.
ReplyDelete