Not So Long Ago

Blog Pause Day 7: Happy day after Christmas!  I hope that you had a wonderful day with loved ones.  Today's post is from roughly one year ago, and it remains one of my absolute favorites.  

Originally posted December 13, 2010

Last night we headed to Target as a family.  Kerrington was propped onto the front of the shopping cart in her car seat carrier.  Reese balanced on the outside of the cart precariously, leaning as far as she could in order to peek into the dollar bins and announce that she wanted the stickers.  And the markers.  And the fluffy little thingy.  Brooke was sitting on the floor, crying, and pulling off her boots as I coaxed her to climb onto the opposite side of the cart to counterbalance Reese's weight and prevent capsizing.  She already had stripped off her jacket. 

Twenty-two degrees outside and that child still does not want to wear clothes.

Solo shoppers who were on a mission sidestepped us with agility and speed.  I understand.  Our family no longer arrives somewhere.  We invade.

In the midst of this I made eye contact with a couple who seemed to be in no rush, no rush at all.  They smiled.  I noticed that the woman was pregnant and asked when she was due.  Yesterday, she answered.  They were having a girl. 

I could have been witnessing their final Target trip as a couple.  They were moving slowly, pausing to browse the merchandise, engaging one another in simple, uninterrupted discussion, and, undoubtedly, thinking of the future -- their lives waiting with expectation like a held breath until their little one arrived. 

They might have looked at our family, unruly as it was, as a glimpse into their eventual future.  I regarded them as a reminder of our not-too-distant past.  We walked the store in an attempt to fill the hours until bedtime.  They walked the store in an attempt to jump-start contractions.  We bypassed the baby aisles, already having every pink item we could possibly need.  They lingered in those aisles, feeling the soft fleece blankets and admiring the footed pajamas.  We drove home, our three girls strapped into the van.  Perhaps when they reached their car they glanced at the car seat base, already strapped in place, and envisioned its first use.

We were them once, not so long ago.

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2 comments

  1. It's so exciting to start a new fresh chapter in one's life, I never was fortunate to have a child but it's satisfying looking at other new families and looking at photo's on the mommy blogs of all kiddies and what they get up to. I think a lot of people get sentimental over the Christmas and we come to realize how precious family is the older we get. I bought some cheap Tracfone phones for my nephews with air time to encourage them to phone me more often. The best Christmas present I received yesterday was hearing from my nephews that I'm the best aunt in the world and that they love me. These precious moments in time is what gives me so much happiness the older I get.

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  2. Thanks, Charmaine! I'm sure that your nephews appreciate your love! :)

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