Let's go shopping! Too bad it's for groceries.
Mom loves bringing her baby grocery shopping with her, regardless of the age of said baby. Baby doesn't have a choice most times with going to the grocery store or not. Baby is screaming internally. There is a fine line in age for going to the grocery store with mother.
THEN
We all remember the ring in mom's voice all those years ago when she would say "Who wants to go grocery shopping?" We would jump at the sound of anything that meant leaving the house and exploring a different part of the world. Grocery shopping was honestly my drug when I was younger. I would get a rush like no other.
The store doors would open and a new air would hit me, especially if you went to Wegmans since they have the floor air vents hit you right when you walk in; bless them.
Mom would say to you "go get a shopping cart!" Then the real rush would come as you raced to find a shopping cart and use it as a type of skateboard with one foot on the handle and the other pushing you to wherever your little child heart desired. That often resulted in hitting the sides of the aisle and knocking over some bags of flour. Whatever.
Begging mom for Go-Gurts or Pop-Tarts was a constant, sometimes we'd even cry for them and pull it off, something to be very proud of. Occasionally shouting "I'll never ask for anything else! Mommy please please please!" to get what we wanted. Well shoot, that would work. We twisted mom's arm and got her to buy us our favorite snack! What could be better?
Nothing, really.
Running into mom's friends was always interesting. Pretending to be shy when you're probably the loudest person in the store. Her friends would say in the high-pitched voice used around children "Are you having a fun time grocery shopping?" Hiding behind mom's butt didn't seem like a bad idea at this moment in time, yet eventually you would give in if the person offered a high-five. Really? I'm not even close to middle school yet, there's no way I'm turning down a high-five.
Following the shenanigans, you'd help mom with the checkout line and put food on the conveyor belt and feel like a bad-ass doing so. You'd leave with mom and check off another successful day of grocery shopping with momma. How beautiful.
NOW
A tap at the foot of your bed. "Get up, we're going shopping," she says. It's 10:08 the morning on a Saturday. "Mom I'm going to sleep, no way I'm coming with you" you say.
Then you blink and you're at the store. How in the hallowed heck did she do that? You were just in your bed wearing close to nothing and now you're wearing clothes.
The shopping cart is now in your hands and you're still using it as a skateboard all these years later. Why not, right?
You ask for some delicious snacks and you get told you need to eat healthy. Okay, there is no way of fighting back from that.
Mom is a social butterfly, so every other person in the store somehow has a connection with her. They see you and tell you that you were "this big" the las time they saw you. That's only the 1,000th time I've heard that, but thanks for number 1,001.
They're also alarmed you have facial hair, as if we aren't allowed to grow up in any way.
Grocery shopping as a child and as a young adult are incredibly contrasting. Although you may not remember some of those moments, mom does. She always will, and she'll hold them tight until the end. The message? Go shopping with mom and love it. Whether you're 10 or 20, help a mother out. It's the little things, after all.
