This morning was epic. An epic failure that is. Yes, I'm being dramatic. Kind of.
Weekend mornings in our house are pretty chaotic with three kiddos under three. Changing diapers, feeding breakfast, cleaning up the breakfast mess, and getting everyone dressed isn't for the faint at heart. But I was determined to be organized and get out the door at a reasonable time to do something I dread - hit Costco on a weekend. With an almost three year old in tow.
Much to my surprise we made it out the door and were well on our way to Costco when I realized problem #1 - I lost my Costco card. Luckily a quick trip to customer service resolved that problem. Then big brother and I made our way through the store as he asked repeatedly "what's this, Mommy?" After hearing this question for the twentieth time in aisle #2 I started to question my decision to go on this adventure today.
We were swiftly moving through the store, at least as fast as you can go with a toddler and a cart full of stuff, when an older man stopped asking if I dropped a hat a few aisles back. While I wasn't looking big brother tossed his favorite blue hat out the cart. Much to my surprise, this kind man went searching for the hat and told me to keep shopping.
After an hour of shopping I made my way to the checkout line, and the cashier rang up all $350 of my stuff. How much of it I needed and was worth the money was questionable at best, but at least I was ready to go. Riiiiight. I handed my credit card over to the cashier and was greeted with words I didn't want to hear, "we don't accept Visa or Mastercard, ma'am." Cue the deer in headlights look on my part. I searched my wallet for a debit card (oh yeah, the one that went missing in my house weeks ago) or a check. Yup, nothing there. Only me, a very eager toddler wanting to leave, and an embarrassingly large heap of food that I couldn't pay for.
I took a deep breath and looked around me. The cashier was growing impatient and the Mom standing behind me in line was glaring and rolling her eyes. As if I had planned to create this situation on purpose. Tears of embarrassment and frustration started welling up so I picked up big brother and walked out of Costco with no groceries and a little less pride. As we walked out I heard on the walkie talkie the security guard was holding that a little boy's hat was found, and the manager came running over with big brother's favorite blue hat.
It wasn't the morning I planned on having yet it was a good lesson in kindness. Whether you're a Mom of multiples or a singleton it doesn't really matter. We're all just pushing ourselves through life trying to take care of our families. My load was particularly heavy today for a variety of reasons, mostly because I'm deep in worry about health issues with our twins, and the judgement I saw in the other Mom's eyes stung. When we see a stranger out and about, none of us know the load she is carrying that day. Patience and a kind heart go a long way when you encounter a Mom struggling with a toddler throwing a tantrum or a cart full of food and no money.
Big brother and I brushed off the morning's frustration with a latte and his favorite banana bread at our local coffee shop. After all, they take Visa and Mastercard.
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