The Diaper Bag Lady March 15, 2015

I’m just glad I wasn’t there to see it happen. Well, that, and for how the story ended. Fortunately, I was able to skip to the last chapter without reading the rest of the book. Usually that’s not how I like to do things, but in this case it was a blessing.

Mom lost something today. Something incredibly important to her. It’s probably going to sound pretty silly, but that’s not always the worst thing. Apparently she left her diaper bag in the cart at Target. She loaded the bags into the car, and got dear baby Carter all settled and somehow forgot to add the diaper bag to the list of things to put in the car before driving away. It only took about 10 minutes for her to realize it, but a lot could happen in that amount of time. 

So when the people at Target recognized her (from security cameras I guess) as “the diaper bag lady” upon her return, she cried. Not just a tear or two either. We’re talking full on bawl baby crying. They had the bag. All was well.

Hearing the story reminded me to pause and be grateful. Not just for the obvious things in life, but for the good people you may only encounter once. Especially as mom navigates this thing called pregnancy for a second time, she needs all the help she can get. And as hard as I may try, it can’t all come from me.

So the people that saw mom forget the diaper bag in the cart and did the right thing: thank you. I know she has a lot on her mind.

To the stranger who offered to pick up Carter’s teether at the grocery store: thank you. I know she’s starting to have a harder time bending over these days.

To dad, who woke up early with Carter today so mom could sleep in: thank you. I know sleep eludes her lately.

To a teething terror of a toddler I know and love as Carter, who took two solid naps yesterday: thank you. That hasn’t been happening lately, and your timing was nice since it allowed mom and dad a little time together.

From what I can tell, pregnancy isn’t an easy ordeal. And mom likes to pretend she’s always got it all together. But I know she needs help sometimes, and it’s not always something I can do. So thank you to the good people out there. You know who you are.

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Forget and Forgive February 1, 2015

I used to think it wasn’t possible for someone’s brain to be somewhere apart from their body. I’ve heard it talked about in the people circles I follow, but it never made much sense to me. Though I consider myself quite philosophical, my sense of all things literal has a tendency to take it too far occasionally. I think that’s why it always sounded strange to me that a mind could be “somewhere else.” 

That is, until today. I’ve seen it from time to time in other situations too, but never has it been quite as blatantly apparent as it was throughout my Sunday.

It was a fairly dreary day around here, but I have a fresh blanket of snow blanket diamonds in my backyard. I was grateful for it, too, since the first time it happened I was outside. I was enjoying the peaceful beauty of the fresh snow when mom called me in, so I opted to stay outside. That decision ultimately lasted a wee bit longer than I would have chosen. I would get it was about a half hour or so before mom called for me to come inside again. Though I was perfectly happy out there, I realized as she brought me back in that she forgot about me until then.

It happened a second time when she and Carter went upstairs to make dinner. I took my time following them, only to be greeted by the closed baby gate at the top of the stairs. I understand this is for dear baby Carter’s safety, but I can’t say it’s my favorite thing in my forever home. It wasn’t until a half hour later when dad got home from that place called work and let me upstairs the rest of the way that I rejoined society again.

One last time it happened with all three of my family members, including dad. My food and water bowl has been temporarily sequestered in a bathroom to prevent Carter from splashing water and sampling from my kibbles. In order to allow me some much-needed privacy while eating, mom shut the door to allow me to eat in peace. In itself, this is not such a bad thing. But another half hour went by before I was rescued from the bathroom.

If I didn’t know better, I’d be pretty hurt by all of this. I would feel forgotten and few things are as disappointing and heart-wrenching as that feeling in my world. But I get it. The mind does wander off to other places sometimes. It’s okay. Regardless of this, I know the love is always there. The heart never leaves, even if the mind does from time to time. That’s what matters to me anyway.