My husband has a huge trial coming up in a week so the kids and I have spent a lot of time together lately while he works every waking moment.
He's been working late and all day on the weekends, too. So, today found me at Super Target with all three kids. Grocery shopping on a Sunday afternoon is the worst time to go shopping and dragging around all three kids made it even worse.
Throughout the entire time we were there, the kids were getting progressively more antsy. And whining and begging for things and generally making me absolutely crazy. They had asked for pizza, ice cream, pudding, toys, toothbrushes, new clothes and on and on. The more they asked for, the more frustrated I got.
Standing in line waiting our turn to check out almost made me lose my mind. They were getting louder and louder and pushing the cart back and forth at each other.
We finally got outside and made it to the car. The windchill here is below zero and I was miserably cold trying to get the groceries into the back of the van as fast as I could. Meanwhile, none of them bothered to help me and they started fussing and complaining in the car and then running around in the van yelling. I practically threw the shopping cart into a snowpile, got into the van and totally lost it. I was more frustrated than I had been in a very long time.
I screamed out, "ENOUGH!" "Sit down, behave yourselves, and BE QUIET!"
There was deafening silence.
In utter exasperation and with a huge sigh, I said (more to myself than to them), "I ought to be awarded sainthood for taking three kids to Target for a full week's grocery shopping!"
About a half a second later, I heard movement from the back. I looked in my rear view mirror just in time to see Libby strike a dramatic opera pose - one hand dramatically clutching her chest, the other raised to the heavens and she belted out in full falsetto, "Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!"
It took me a second or two to get it but then I burst out laughing, the kids burst out laughing and we all laughed until we cried.
:)
