Walmart Greeter

Easter came upon us quickly this year. Thank goodness I have a wonderful sister and mother who are on top of things. My Mom picked up Easter outfits for the kids -- the thought had barely entered my head. My sister called and invited us over for dinner and egg coloring the day before the holiday. I wish I was more organized and on top of things, but quite frankly I am NOT. It would help if I looked at the calendar once in a while or was aware enough to notice the aisles of Easter items invading the grocery store.

By Saturday, I hadn't purchased an Easter basket for my little guy. So Bill and I piled the kids in the truck and went to Walmart to find a basket. We were doing our very best to not let Ike see us put the basket in the cart. Bill took Ike down another aisle while I scouted out a basket. Trying to be sneaky, Bill distracted him with a small, cheap dump truck. Once we made it to the check out line, I had him come stand with me in front of the store. All seemed to be going well! We might just pull off an Easter basket surprise.

Well, as lines go at Walmart, it took Bill a while to get checked out. Not to worry! A three year old is very self-sufficient when it comes to entertaining himself. He started greeting people as they passed by. "Hi guys!" he'd say quite cheerfully. Some would smile and stop and listen to him chat away. Others, however, wouldn't stop or respond to his greetings. In this case, Ike would turn to me, put his hand on my leg and solemnly say, "He's sad, Mommy."

Well, my new goal is to get myself organized. These holidays are meant to teach children the beauty of life and I fear if I don't get my act together, my kids' precious childhood will have passed by. They will only remember waiting in line at Walmart while I do last minute shopping. It's truly not fair and I would never want to disappoint them or make them sad. However, not only do we have holidays to make lasting memories we have many moments we can make lasting impressions.