There and Back Again (subtitled: How we did on our first trip to Wal-Mart)

Well, I had determined that I must buy food, and it couldn't wait for a time convenient to my dear hubby's schedule, so after Jadyn went down for a nap, I snuck her into the car seat, gathered the necessary stuff, and slipped out.

First, we went through the bank drive-thru lane. I bit my tongue and successfully fought the urge to tell the sweet lady teller to shut up because I feared the sound of her voice might wake my happily napping child. After catching glimpses of Jadyn through that handy but all-too-distracting car seat mirror, I felt reasonably certain I could pull off the Wal-Mart leg of the trip.

The thing that struck me most was this odd feeling that I was much like some wide-load truck on the highway without it's front and rear escort cars. I felt for all the world like everyone could tell I was a first-time mom on her first-time grocery trip with her teeny tiny newborn. I whispered to anyone who spoke to me, took extreme caution rounding turns, and skipped several aisles I would normally scan, all because of the lingering dread of a crying fit in the check-out line. (By the way, it sure would be nice if someone would tell the people at Wal-Mart that check-out workers have forgotten how to say anything more to customers than the amount of the bill.)

The highlight of the trip came while I was in the baby section. (Heaven forbid I DON'T go into the baby section - that's how it's been since the stick showed 2 lines.) Anyway, this nice lady saw me with my snoozing angel and asked me about baby monitors. Apparently a friend of hers is having a baby and wants the TV kind. I told her that in my opinion they're a little extreme, but if the new mommy wanted it (she's a first-timer too and I told her we tend toward the extreme), she should get someone to go in with her on it because of price. She said thanks and off she went. I felt so....so....helpful! Imagine, someone asking ME about baby stuff!!! Didn't she see the giant flashing yellow I'M A NEWBIE sign over my head? Ah well, the bulb must have burnt out. I'll change it during the next naptime.