I went to the mall by myself, with two kids.
For the few times that I have left the house with two kids in tow, it has been exhausting...
especially when I have went to places without carts...
like the mall.
So I get out of the car, wrap up my body in the baby wrap, while trying not to let the material touch the dirty ground. Then I go to the trunk, and get the stroller out, unfold it, and put the diaper bag in the basket underneath. Then I run over to the other side of the car, take Bonnie out of her car seat, bring her quickly up to the passenger seat (so she doesn't get too cold), lay her down on the seat, and put her inside a warm swaddler. Then I wrap her up in one more blanket, and put her inside the baby wrap on my chest. After that (hopefully Brody isn't getting too anxious to get out of his car seat), I go back to the other side of the car, unbuckle him and lift him out of the car, while being careful not to bump Bonnie too much in the process. I sit Brody in his stroller, lock the car, and we are finally ready to go inside of the mall.
Phew! What a process THAT is. Looking on the bright side, I guess it will stop me from taking unnecessary trips to the mall to spend the money I definitely do not have.
After we walked the mall a bit (stopping at the play place for Brody of course), it was time to leave and get the kids back into the car.. This is basically the same process as the one described above, but backwards. As I was struggling through the steps, a group of five girls came laughing down the parking lot. I could hear bits and pieces of what they were saying.. things about boys, clothes, and other things that I realize I never talk about anymore. What a different life I lead. While those girls, not too much younger than me, were worried about what they were going to wear that next weekend, I'm here worrying about making sure I have an extra baby outfit packed in the diaper bag in case of a major blow out.
At that moment though, while juggling two babies between nap schedules, I realized how much life changes in such a short period of time. And while I am not complaining about these life changes, it struck me just how much life doesn't slow down... ever. We are in one phase of our life, and before we know it, we are in the next.
Jeff and I were talking about how our anniversary is coming up this month and we were listing all of the things that have happened in just those three, short years:
Got married,
moved four times,
changed schools once (Jay),
became managers of an apartment complex,
had two kids,
finished student teaching (Kay),
taught my own class, (Kay)
graduated college (Kay),
changed major (Jay),
sold two cars,
bought one new car...
The list kept going on and on. We realized that without paying much attention, so much has happened in such a short period of time. It made me wonder what other big things are about to happen in the next three years. Life doesn't stop. It doesn't slow down. Pretty soon, I will be looking back on this phase of my life, and as hard as it seems right now, I may even catch myself missing it.
I'm a young girl, with two babies, and a husband in college. This is a phase of life I will never be able to relive. So I want to live it up now. With all the diapers, throw up, and messy toys... some days are harder than others. But then there's those times that Brody randomly comes up behind me and gives me a huge hug, right on my back as I sit on the floor cleaning up those messy toys. Those are the moments I need to focus on.
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