Sooooo I have a confession! My confession is that I hate grocery shopping. I hate it for many reasons but mainly because of the time commitment, crowds and the coupons my wife gives me, knowing that they seem like calculus work for someone like me.
So obviously, I usually leave the grocery shopping up to my wife, but this week, I was trying to be sweet, so I told her I would accompany her and my daughter to do the shopping and get in some QT. Well let’s just say grocery shopping by myself is annoying enough, but with my daughter, it was another level. Here is what I learned:
1) Buggies are nasty
I never even thought about it because I don’t ever remember my mom wiping down a buggy before putting me in one, but my wife wasn’t having it! Sanitizer had to be used before her baby got in that buggy. Follow that up with the fact that my daughter kept trying to put all of the straps in her mouth, and I’m sure she has a case of cooties by now.
2) Shopping on a Saturday morning is like playing bumper cars
Every turn I made and every aisle I went down was just like being in the thick of Atlanta traffic. Between saying “I’m sorry” and “excuse me” and almost running over a few kids, I was just over it.
Also the grocery store isn’t like the mall where you have a man section to sit down out the way. I couldn’t find a corner to hide in without feeling like I was blocking someone’s path. Geesh!
3) Cute babies slow you down
Okay don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the fact that people think my daughter is cute, but that is usually met with people wanting to stop and play with her. They want to talk about how adorable she is, how old she is and how they miss when their kids were that age. Meanwhile we are in the middle of the grocery aisle, and the horns are honking!
4) Your kid will grab everything she can reach
Okay…I didn’t realize how quick my daughter’s hands were until we were on the flour aisle. I turned my back for 2.5 seconds, and she was pulling down bags of flour off the shelf!! I was just happy it wasn’t something glass or the bags didn’t bust wide open. I guess 1-year-olds speak one language called GRAB!
5) You may just have to give in!
I used to think it was tacky to eat things in the grocery store until you had actually paid for them. WELP! That was until your baby is getting restless, and those little fruit pouches or Goldfish crackers you were buying for home are the only thing standing between her being content or having a meltdown. Alex, I choose fruit pouch for 1000!
Please don’t think I’m complaining or being petty; I’m just having a little fun with something we all go through! I appreciate my wife taking on the grocery shopping tasks….Besides her coupon game is so strong, we usually end up spending half of what we would have spent if I did it on my own.
BMWK, is there a family task that you usually leave to one parent? Do you think parents should occasionally take on the other’s normal tasks every once and awhile?