Mommy Moment: Runaway Cart

Today's mommy moment is from Heidi.

It was Monday morning, and I was feeling a little anxious as I headed to the grocery store. This was my first trip outside the home with both kids. Lexi was only 2 weeks old. I had meticulously planned my grocery list. Everything was perfectly in order to maximize my efforts to get in and out of the store as quickly as possible. I hopped out of the car and got both girls out. I got into the store and to my dismay, there were no shopping carts with the toy car on it. So I grabbed a regular shopping cart and stuck Abby in the child’s seat, and Lexi (in her car seat) on the middle part of the cart. No big deal. I can do this. I quickly made my rounds in the store, and before I knew it I was almost done. Besides a few tears, this had been a pretty uneventful trip. I checked out, and as I was walking out to the car I thought “Wow, that wasn’t so bad! I did it!”. I pushed the shopping cart to my car, and started piling my groceries into the back of the car. Next I pushed the cart over to the side of the car and started to put Lexi in. I heard the “click” of the carseat, letting me know she was in. Before I turned around, I heard a lady shout “Um, MAAM!? MAAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”.  “What in the world is this lady doing?” I thought as I proceeded to turn around. As I began to turn in her direction, something caught my eye. A shopping cart, moving pretty quickly, and already at the end of the parking lot….. WAIT…. MY SHOPPING CART, MOVING PRETTY QUICKLY AND ALREADY AT THE END OF THE PARKING LOT…………. WITH MY 2 YEAR OLD IN IT! I could hear her laughing and squealing “WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” and kicking her legs harder and harder in excitement. But the harder she kicked those little legs, the faster she went. “OH MY GOSH” was all I could stammer as I took off in an Olympic sprint. She was heading into the next parking lot, RC Willey’s Furniture, when the Mail Man took action. He had seen this all happening from afar. He revved up that mail carrier and zoomed over to save my squealing toddler. But he wasn’t fast enough. I got there first, and pulled the getaway cart to a halt. Abby shrieked in delight “FUNNY MOMMY!”. I caught my breath and turned to the mail man who asked if everything was ok. I assured him we were fine, then turned my cart around to continue my walk of shame to the car. The lady that yelled at me was laughing to the point of tears, and couldn’t get over the way that Abby pumped her legs to get the cart going faster and faster. I managed to chuckle a little through my embarrassment and thanked her for her help. “This is my first time out with both kids” I mumbled. She reassured me that things like this happen, and it could have been much worse. I got into the car, cheeks bright red, heart still racing, and thought “Chalk one up for Abby. Kids: 1 Mom: 0”. I almost made it. 7 months later, and our trips to the grocery store are much more successful these days. Practice makes perfect people.