For all that you hear about women being catty and petty, and yes there’s plenty of truth to that (shame on us) I’ll tell you what, nothing brings women together like babies (and I’d bet children in general). I took Drew out to the grocery store today, and while no one tells you before childbirth that THAT particular task becomes harder by a factor of 800, thanks to the wonderful women I encountered, the chore became just a touch easier.
First stop, Trader Joes. I push Drew in his stroller with one hand while holding a small basket in the other. A woman empathetically remarks, “Looks like you’ve got your hands full there,” and steers out of my way to give me extra space. Amidst the aisles of organic bananas and dried fruit and nuts packaged six millions ways from Sunday, women smile at me kindly, deliver silent open-mouthed ‘awwwws’ and generally let me get by so I can grab this tray of frozen enchiladas or that wholly unnecessary container of soft-baked biscotti. Buoyed by the positive experience, I decide to venture on to the local supermarket.
At Stop & Shop, my general grocery needs are greater than what a small basket will hold, so I opt to carry Drew in the Baby Bjorn. Grabbing a cart is a bit of a struggle though, and a woman immediately rushes up and offers to pull one from the godforsaken cartsnake for me. “Let me get that for you,” she says with a friendly smile, “I’ve been there before” and she gestures to three braces-clad girls behind her. The girls smile awkwardly at me, surely thinking that there’s no way their mother was ever here, with an INFANT. But it’s true, she was, and she seems to vividly remember how even the smallest task could feel like an insurmountable slog in which the payoff is barely worth the effort.
Inside the store one of the woman’s daughters declares that she “ain’t getting a cart.” “You ARE NOT getting a cart,” the woman corrects, “And yes, you are.” She leans towards me conspiratorially. “Enjoy them she says. They end up like this one day.”
I place my palm on Drew’s head and assure her that yes, I will enjoy him. I think to myself that there’s no way that I will one day be there, with surly, braces-clad teenagers in tow. But it’s true, I will be. And I hope then I give some other young mother a helping hand.
Tags: family, motherhood
