Once upon a time, a mommy and her two little girls went grocery shopping. It was the first day of fall, yet the temperatures still lingered in the upper 90′s.

The littlest girl was very tired following a restless and sleepless night. The mommy knew it was not the best day for a shopping trip, but it was greatly needed.

As they walked through the automatic doors, the little one spotted the special shopping cart, complete with the two kid seats attached. She saw a fun ride. The mommy saw a huge, heavy cart with reduced grocery space that would make the store much more difficult to navigate. Still, the little girl had asked to ride in one of those carts every time they had been to the store lately. Perhaps today she should say yes to her daughter’s request.

After finally settled in the cart, they began their journey. After about 30 seconds, the mommy realized she had made a mistake. You see, it had been a very long time since she had attempted shopping with such a cart. In making her decision, she neglected a very vital fact. Her children had grown. They were bigger and heavier. The cart was not a good one. The wheels simply did not want to turn properly. It would have been hard to push empty. With two children and groceries…she shuddered at the thought.

She paused briefly. The dilemma was clear. Keep the cart and get a really great workout or trade the cart for a normal one and devastate the tired little one. Her mommy’s heart couldn’t bear that last thought. So she pressed on.

The mommy had never been known as a fitness guru. She began to feel more and more like a wimp as she maneuvered around carts and people…all the while trying to make it look effortless. After all, she didn’t want the grocery store crowd to know that she was a wimp. To ease her suffering, she began to daydream about the blog post she could write about her grand adventure.

By the time she reached the greeting card aisle, she was done. Done with the cart, done with the store, but not done with the list. She began the task of searching for a birthday card that actually said something reasonably decent. Card after card…nothing. Then she saw a card that said “Birthdays Are Like Bloggers!” She was momentarily intrigued…only to realize it actually said, “Birthdays Are Like Boogers!” She barely had the energy to laugh at herself.

The mommy found a relatively decent card and proceeded to the checkout. She had just gotten to her place in line when a cheerful cashier said, “Ma’am, I can help you without a wait on aisle 8.” The mommy took one look at the cart, and said, “Thank you, but I’d rather not move this thing any more.”

Somehow they made it to the van, unloaded the cart, and hit the road for home. The mommy sighed with relief and, unbeknown to her children, ate the Twix she had purchased at the checkout…and she enjoyed every bite.

The End