Last Friday I headed out to Guelph to visit my Mom and to check out the new Bath and Body Works store. I hadn't been to Stone Road Mall in a while so I was really surprise by how much it has changed. It turned out to not be a great day to be out with the kids. When we got to the mall, the stroller was a bugger to push and Grace decided she didn't want to be in the stroller. So my mom carried her for a bit and then she just wasn't happy so we had to go change her, and of course, the bathroom was way back where we started from. The Family washrooms at Stone Road Mall are not very "family friendly". Right from the time we approached, I knew it was going to be a pain in the neck. Problem number one: The door opens inward but you have to turn the door knob first. I am sure that this is good for parents that have toddlers so that they can't escape but the door is heavy enough that they couldn't pull it open themselves. Problem number two: once the door is open, there is a wall directly across from the wall but it is not far enough away to push a double stroller in without hitting it while turning. Problem number three: It was hotter than hell in there! I think someone thought it was a sauna, not a washroom. Problem number four: the change table is one of those nifty ones that looks like a large, very shallow sink but it was on a counter that was very high and they set them back from the edge of the counter pretty far. Now I am only five foot one or so and it was awkward for me to use it. Whoever designed this washroom needs to go to Limeridge Mall in Hamilton and check out their family washroom. It's not perfect but the parts that are most necessary are great. After doing a quick bum change, we trekked down the mall to find B&BW, and as I figured, there was no negotiating the store with a double stroller so I parked it at the front of the store. Mom carried Grace and I walked Zander. It would have been fine but all these ladies started oohing and aahing about how cute Zander is and of course, he turns into shy boy and won't walk. So I pick him up and check things out, all the while keeping his curious little hands away from the shelves. He likes to pick things up off the shelf and throw them on the floor which would be alright in this store because most of the bottles are plastic, but it wasn't so great in the wine shop at the grocery store a month or so back.... But that's another post altogether. I ended up leaving the store quickly and empty handed, except for a toddler, a unco-operative double stroller and a screaming infant. I forgot that my shopping days are done, or rather limited to the grocery store and Wal-Mart.
2 comments:
Oh I remember those days well! The worst outting for me was to the laundromat. A diaper bag and purse over one shoulder with a very plump baby on that hip, and a large basket of clothes under the other arm and somehow managing to hold my 3 year olds hand. Of course, this took many trips due to the fact that I had several days worth of laundry to do. The laundromat didn't have automatic doors either. Since it is impossible to amuse two small children there, I would use the wait time to do groceries. So by the time I got home, I was trying to carry kids, laundry AND groceries in to a multi-level home, again this was many trips. And in the winter winds/snow, it was even worse. I remember finally finishing a task and realizing that the child on my hip had lost a boot or mitten or hat or bottle etc. somewhere on our journey. Arrggg. This went on for a few years and my youngest refused to walk until he was about 3. He was also a special needs child and he could not be left alone even for a minute so every trip in and out of the house and/or the laundromat, he was attached to my hip. The strength we are able to find both physically and emotionally when we have children still amazes me to this day. And now that my children are older (12 and 15), I'd give anything to get those days back no matter how hard they were. Time passess faster and faster the older we get. And actually, my birthdays mean nothing to me but on my children's birthday, I'm an emotional wreck with the reminder that they become a little less dependant on me all the time and I feel like my time is running out. The constant worry that I haven't done enough or won't have enough time to give them all I wish to give them. Every precious moment is a gift...a blessing...a miracle.
Lisa, thanks for your post... I know that I am not the only Mom that goes through all this stuff, but sometimes it feels like it! Isn't it funny doing the car to house transfer after an outting? What do I take in first, the kids or the stuff? LOL In the summer and winter, the kids go in first, in the fall and spring the stuff is first! Probably not what I should do but it works for us and the kids are safe either way. I can't imagine carrying one of my kids, especially my todder, back and forth each trip... I mean, I would be in great shape that is for sure! Anyway, thanks for your post and I hope you keep reading!
Post a Comment