Oh that I were an... ambulance?

Today, and it's only 2:45pm, has been one of those days. I just need to share. It started with a visit to Barnes & Noble, usually a favorite of mine. I had low expectations of this visit though because I had the boys with me, but it was far worse than I had anticipated. Cameron did everything a 3-year does to humiliate his mother. Maybe some of you have had a child like this. He runs away from me so I have to run up and down aisles of books to chase him. I have two choices, run while pushing the stroller with Eli (extremely embarrassing) or leave the stroller behind. So then once I have caught Cameron I have to pick him up and retrieve the stroller, all the while he is screaming and crying and everyone is looking at me. I know the things I thought about mothers like me back before I had kids and I could feel the words shooting out of the stares..."She needs to discipline her children better" ... "What a naughty boy!" (Which was absolutely true. Very naughty.) "Take that child out of this store." I know that is probably what I should have done, haul the tantrum-throwing child back out to the car. But I don't live close to B&N and I really just wanted to get this shopping trip over with. The thought of coming back and trying again was a nightmare in and of itself. So I quickly found the books I wanted and left the store very very angry.

Well, don't drive angry. There is an intersection in Boise that is infamous in my family for car accidents. Five Mile and Fairview. And today, being the day that it was looking to be, was ripe for another crash. I wasn't paying attention, obviously, and I smashed into the van in front of me. I instantly burts into tears, of course. Who wouldn't? We pulled into a parking lot and surveyed the damage which seemed to be non-existant. The two women in the van were very kind. It was an older vehicle with it's own share of dings and dents and she was not concerned. I gave her my name and phone number for peace of mind and got back into my car.

At this point I just should have gone home. But I still had a couple places to go and I just wanted to get it over with. Cameron was a little better at the next two stops but only because I confined him to the cart. (No carts at B&N.) But on the way home from our last store Eli started screaming. He screamed the whole way home. This was where I wished I could be an ambulance. I wanted all the cars to get out of my way, (so I wouldn't hit anymore). I wanted to completely ignore all traffic laws and stoplights. I imagined just driving as fast as I could to get to my house as soon as I could so I could lock my children in their bedroom and let them sleep. Well, I made it home while still yielding to other vehicles and obeying traffic laws. Except for speeding. I figured "Oh heck. Why not get a ticket to top it all of?" No ticket thank goodness.

So here I sit in my quiet house with my sleeping children, who of course look like angels now. Thanks for reading.