Mind Your Own Beeswax

Last night after dinner Travis asked me to take the baby away so he could spend time with the big boys for awhile. Austin LOVES his daddy so much and is very demanding of his attention…every last drop of it. I needed to run to Super Walmart anyway so I scooped up the little man and off we went…without shoes or socks. Oops. Oh well, I guess that is what happens to tired mothers of 3 at the end of the day. Austin and I had a ton of fun together in the store. I was in no hurry to get back so we laughed and flirted. We got a lot of attention from the other shoppers. But then I made the mistake of walking past a fuzzy monkey which is just too much for my little bear cuddler to handle. He was overcome with grief because mommy would not let him slobber all over the unpurchased merchandise. I then had to hold him on my hip with one arm and push the overflowing basket with the other. I put him down so that I could grab several items from the frozen food and, guess what, he didn’t want back up. He had had a taste of freedom and was unwilling to give it up. Maybe if he had been my first child, back when I still cared what strangers thought about my parenting, I would have forced the issue, but no, he was using such restraint as we passed the bright Christmas tree and following closely by me with his bare feet. I thought of my friend who is raising her 4 boys on a farm and all the disgusting things they have lived through and I realized that we were going to be just fine, even as the gasping older women passed by. Mommy practiced a little restraint of her own and didn’t tell the nasty lady off…not even with her eyes. Amazingly enough, we both made home safely and in good health.