Friday, September 08, 2006

Another Day of Quality Parenting

After dropping my son off at school this morning, my mom and I decided to brave the elements (AKA shopping with two small girls) and head out to find my daughter some shoes. Hannah has the largest feet on the planet for someone who is almost 4 and finding shoes for her is a chore. And she grows out of shoes with lightening speed so I never want to pay very much. We headed to Fred Meyer first because we'd already looked at Target, Famous Footwear and Wal-Mart. Hannah was in rare form this morning, crying over everything from not liking her yellow shirt to finding her "baby" too heavy to carry. I should have known then what I was in for but I soldiered on.

We are in Fred Meyer for about 17.9 seconds before Hannah starts crying, and then screaming at the top of her lungs. She doesn't want to try walking in the cute new shoes I found for her because she's afraid her heel will come out. No amount of reasoning will soften this child's screams and I am frankly ready to leave the store without her. It was unreal. She would not stop. In a completely stellar parenting move, I grabbed her face on both sides and told her in that hushed but extremely stern voice that all mothers have mastered "if you don't stop it RIGHT NOW you will regret it with every fiber of your being." Watch out CPS, here I come.

We managed to finish our shopping excursion with minimal bruising and are now back home with no new shoes. In my six and a half years of parenting, I have never had a child do that to me in a store and I feel a whole new range of sympathy for all those other parents who can't control their children and whom I used to feel superior to. Looks like we're in the same boat after all.

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