DAY 17

Yesterday morning, I left the house with 12 different packed bags for our various activities throughout the day.

This is not an exaggeration. There was a bag for my laptop, one for my dry cleaning, the snacks I needed to take to the kid’s school, a tote for my kids swim gear and my gym duffel.  Then, there was my lunch and my purse both of which I put inside a larger tote creating a strange bag-within-a-bag situation.  And let’s not forget my kid’s two backpacks and lunches.  All of these bags were painstakingly packed by me.*

I SWEAR; I AM TRYING TO SIMPLIFY.

The day was going fine; I was a well-oiled working mother machine.  I had planned ahead. Last stop of the day was the gym where Wednesday nights are a win-win.  The kids get to go swimming with the child care group. And, I get two hours of uninterrupted, guilt free work out time.  It’s everybody’s favorite night of the week.

I’ll cut to the chase.  I forgot my socks.   So I stood there in the locker room, muttering to myself, weighing my options, out loud, like, dare I say it, a crazy bag lady.

It was a long day, and I was really tired.  That is my only explanation for what happened next.

My weapon of choice

I know she was just trying to be helpful, but the woman next to me suddenly pipes up, “You know they sell socks at the front desk.”  At that moment I wanted to hit her with my shoe.  And I don’t mean that metaphorically.  I mean, I actually had to call upon my impulse control, not to turn that bright yellow sneaker into a weapon.

So, instead I just snapped, “Isn’t that America’s reaction to every problem?  Throw money at it, buy more things.”

OK, can we say “overreaction?”  That poor woman, all I needed was a tinfoil hat to complete the package. Not surprisingly, she moved away from me.

So I went to yoga to work on my inner peace, and besides–they don’t need shoes and socks.

Namaste

*I know that the kids should probably pack their own backpacks. But, if unchecked, rather than homework and a permission slip, my kindergartner would likely show up with a tutu and a phone book.