Gauging by some of my friends in the blog world and on Facebook, I think I may be a little slow on the uptake sometimes. I know I’m conservative. Cautious. That I tend to think through worst case scenarios…all of them…before I jump [or crawl] into a situation.
I look at some of my friends and think, “I need a dose of her [seeming] ‘throw caution to the wind’ attitude.” “I need to chill out and relax and go with the flow.”
And I’m trying.
My girls can walk up and down the steps unassisted (although I still prefer to walk closely alongside). I let them use finger paints (on rare occasions when I can work up the nerve). And we’ve played outside a lot these past few weeks…I let them sit in a pile of leaves (on the ground!)…I let them run in the side yard (which is not fenced in!)…and they’ve gotten lots of practice on their tricycles (even surviving a couple of inevitable spills!).
Still, it’s not always easy for this mama to step outside of her comfort zone. So when I do, I celebrate myself.
So what was the momentous milestone this week???
We went shopping at Target. Sans stroller.
Oh, yes, we did!
I let the girls walk with me on short errands – like to buy stamps at the post office, or make a deposit at the bank – and they always walk these days when we go for yogurt or a cookie. But for any transactions that will require both my hands for any period of time – like grocery shopping – I still use the stroller.
On Tuesday I had just a couple of things to pick up at Target, and I decided to give the girls a try. We had a big pep talk, and I was prepared to leave the store empty-handed if they didn’t behave as I asked them to. We walked in and I got a hand basket. I instructed the girls to keep one hand on the basket at all times, and off we went.
The girls did very well, not letting go of the basket at all. They wanted to reach and grab a bit with their free hand, but I invoked the “one finger” rule, and they did pretty well.
We spent a good 15 minutes in the store, and we even had time to look at the cards before we headed to the register (an all-time favorite activity, by the way). By the time we reached the check-out, the girls were starting to fidget, but all in all, I consider it to have been a very successful trip.
So I’m patting myself on the back…which requires letting go of the girls’ hands for just a second…but I think I’m up for that.
Ticker
8 comments:
Good job! :) I bet they are still talking about their new adventure.
How fun! We just did this last week for the first time too. I think I actually prefer it. We ended out trip in the books which they thought was the best thing ever.
Amazing! Bravo!!! I still vividly remember the first time I brought the girls to Target in the stroller. I called everyone I knew to boast. It was about a 10 mom trip... But I was a nervous nelly. They were about 4 months. Today I'm no where near going sans stroller, but it gives me hope that maybe someday!!! Congrats ... That's huge!
That's a triumph for sure! I took the girls into Walmart today sans stroller, but not by choice. We are definitely NOT ready for that yet ;)
I love your "one finger" rule. I've used that with our girls a lot. Such a great rule, Mandy!
yeah!! good job to you and the girls!
Adam LOVES when I let him walk instead of being stuck in the cart. He does pretty good - except when he gets silly and runs away! ugh!
Great job, Mandy. I know how hard this is for you and it's a HUGE milestone!
I happily take one baby but not both :)
Congrats! I'm not that brave yet, because I insist on only going to stores that have a two seater shopping cart!
I don't believe I know you're one finger rule... can you explain it?
Monicasmith.rlt@gmail.com
This is GREAT! I'm so proud of you!
I was able to do this for a while, but then it got ugly...really ugly, so continue to be prepared for leaving when you have to. Those toddler tendencies will creep up when you least expect them...like when you're in Ann Taylor Loft and both of your children are under the display table screaming their cute little heads off...
You rock!
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