October 17, 2011

Smart A...

Each weekend we do the grocery shopping together as a family. Recently, it became more difficult because I did not want to sit in the cart. Instead, I wanted to run amok through the store, grabbing whatever products I could from the shelves. It's easier for Mom and Dad to do the shopping together (it minimizes extra trips during the week for forgotten items), so they tried to think what they could do to continue our family shopping tradition.

Mom and Dad quickly realized that what I needed was to be given a job while at the store. So, now, it is my job to put the groceries we need into the cart. Whenever we buy something not too heavy, not packaged in glass, or basically not breakable, I get to stand on my tiptoes and drop it into the cart. Sometimes, if the items are low enough, I even get to pick them off of the shelves.

While this strategy works most of the time, there are times I still want to run amok through the store. Our local grocery store keeps kid-sized carts at the front, and sometimes I am lucky enough to snatch one up to push around. But pushing the cart occassionally puts the idea of running and slamming into things (or people) into my head.

This past Sunday was no exception. Mom and Dad weighed my cart down with a bag of apples, hoping to help me go slow. But, it didn't really work. As we headed to the check-out stand, I tried to run. Mom stopped pushing her cart, Dad pulled back on my cart (so I couldn't push it forward anymore), and both turned to me and told me that I needed to walk slowly. So what did I do?

I proceeded to the check-out stand, walking as slow as I possibly could, taking a couple of seconds for each step.

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