Well, yesterday was a first. I understand parenting is full of firsts, but yesterday was not necessarily a first that I’m proud of. It was the first time I forgot my child…
The morning was off to a rocky start to begin with. I rarely have early morning meetings, but yesterday was that rare occurrence. Hindsight, I should have knocked out my grocery shopping while I was out but I decided to come back home and grab the three little hooligans.
Off to Aldi we went. By the way, are you an Aldi shopper? Aldi is somewhat new for me, and I love it. If you didn’t know, Aldi and Trader Joe’s are owned by the same company so you will see some of the similar brands at each retailer. I’m a fan of both.
Our Trader Joe’s is a little further away, so I resorted to Aldi yesterday morning. Pulled up. Immediately realized I didn’t have a quarter for the shopping cart. Dudes, I get it. I know I could have asked for a quarter, but I literally had 4 items to purchase so between myself and the three hooligans I figured we could pull it off without a hitch.
- Bread.
- Fruit.
- Yogurt.
- Cheese.
- Pretzels.
That completed our list, so we moseyed on over to the checkout. Adam was starting to throw a fit because I wouldn’t let him open my wallet. Oh, did I mention I wasn’t carrying a purse? No sir, not yesterday when I felt slightly invincible shopping with three kids and no shopping cart.
I paid the cashier who was already side eyeing me for the toddler who was laying completely flat on his back at the end of the conveyer belt screaming. Whatevs.
I loaded up all the groceries into one of those large cardboard boxes and headed to the door. We reached the minivan. Oh, have I mentioned to you I am now the proud owner of a minivan? BOOM! Never looking back. I loaded up the minivan and closed the trunk as I heard this man yelling from the store entrance.
“Ma’am! Ma’am!” Surely this man wasn’t referring to me. Obviously, I was able to get out of the store without too many casualties. Just to be safe, I turned around and looked at the man.
“Ma’am! I think you forgot your child in the store!” I whipped around and did a quick headcount of my children and sure enough one was missing. I bolted for the door, pushing the man aside. Sorry, man.
One foot inside Aldi and I heard the screams. I glanced down the line of cashiers and there he was. Standing by the water fountains, crying his head off. I ran toward Adam and caught yet another stank eye from the judgy cashier, swooped him up and surfboard carried him out of the store as he continued to scream bloody murder.
He cried and I cried almost the entire way home thinking how awful I am for leaving my child. I know, I know, I’m not a terrible parent…yet it wasn’t my proudest parenting moment either.
Alright mamas!! Spill the beans! Have you ever left your child somewhere before? Please say yes…
