I just got back from grocery shopping with my two year old. I could tell when I headed off from the parking lot that the cart I'd picked wasn't a good one. It wasn't until half-way through that I really regretted it. It kept veering to the right and the front wheel clunked. And it was getting heavy. That's also when the two year old decided she was done. She started yelling about everything and throwing anything she could reach out of the cart. I was just trying to get done as fast as possible. The rest of the kids were home with a sitter. The little one and I had just been at the doctor and I thought I could run in and get a few things while I was already out. At $10 an hour though I could see the money floating out of my wallet the longer it took me.
I had noticed that the shopping cart strap was broken but I'm from Montana and we don't tend to worry about belts and buckles if we don't have to. Plus I was just in a hurry and didn't want to go find another cart. Around the mid point of the shopping trip when the full cart kept veering off and clunking, my little person figured out she wasn't buckled and kept trying to climb out. So she's yelling about wanting brownies, throwing groceries out of the cart and climbing out, all while I'm trying to rescue light bulbs and avoid knocking over the holiday end caps with my careening cart. Finally the little monster got busy sticking the corner of the marshmallow bag up her nose. Gross. But it was keeping her busy and quiet. For a REALLY long time. Then someone walked past us in the aisle and she hauled off and hit them with her marshmallow bag. She WOUND up for it and everything. "I'm so sorry!" I said and then veered and clunked as quickly as possible to the next aisle.
Sometimes you just have to laugh. That's what I did today. And my two year old (still sticking that bag in her nose) looked at me like I'd lost my mind.
Another time, I was walking past my kids room and peeked in at them. They were being so sweet playing with their kitchen set and making playdough cookies. I thought "Oh I should go get the camera". But then I thought "Where did they get playdough??" And I realized that one of the children had taken off their poopy diaper and they were playing with it. And making POOP cookies!!! It was the perfect consistency.
Another time, when my two oldest kids were two and one, I had just taken them out of the bath tub. I dried them off, let the water out, got clothes on the oldest, turned around to hang up towels and the kids had disappeared. I raced around looking for them and saw that they had opened the patio door and gotten out to the back yard. I ran out just in time to catch the naked one year old as she fell off the ladder to their play structure.
I've got so many of these stories. Sometimes you have to laugh! It might take a little while for it to be funny but you can choose to be mad about things or let it make you laugh. I'm guessing that the people around you would rather that you laugh. Mine sure would! I don't laugh enough. I'm usually on a mission to get a million things done. To find the funny you have to slow down and I'm not good at that. I'm trying though because life is more fun when it's funny.
Psalm 68:3
But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.
Proverbs 31:25
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
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