Davis is one now and sometimes taking a one year old to the grocery store can be a challenge. So, I do whatever I can to make my shopping experience a little more pleasant. Often this involves distracting Davis. In the past, I have allowed Davis to hold a cantaloupe (he thought it was a really heavy ball), a lime, a bottle of salad dressing, even a bucket (which he got stuck on his head).
Recently a new Lowe’s Foods opened in our area. At this particular store, they have those carts that look like a car so that your child can sit up front and pretend he is driving. I thought, “Wow, what a spectacular distraction device.” So, Davis and I opted to drive the car on our last grocery buying adventure. Davis is a great driver by the way. I, on the other hand, obviously need a license to be able to operate this sophisticated piece of machinery.
We made it through the produce area without a hitch. We then had to navigate through the Deli/Bakery section. I made it halfway through when this mass of a buggy we were driving collided with a pastry display. CRASH – down came about six plastic boxes of some sort of sticky bread. Plastic boxes make a commotion when they fall. Okay, so I started picking them up with everyone watching. I got them placed back on the display, tried to navigate around once more, and wouldn’t you know it, CRASH – they all fell again. This time, the bakery display guy and a total stranger came rushing to my aid. They were steadily picking up these pastries as I once again tried to navigate safely around this display. And yes, people, for a THIRD time, I knocked the pastries over. I didn’t even look up to see how many people in that bakery were gawking at me and my one year old, now very distracted, child. Finally, after many attempts, I made it through the bakery section and through the store.
At the register, the very friendly cashier asked if I wanted to place my groceries back in the car so that Davis could continue driving. “No way,” I responded. “I want to get rid of this thing as fast as I can.” I explained that I had wrecked a pastry display. Her mouth dropped open; she didn’t even know how to respond, but gladly placed my groceries in a normal buggy.
We made it to the car safely. Next time, I’ll know to steer clear of any buggy that looks like it belongs at an amusement park.