You twin moms out there will understand.
Our local Whole Foods is a favorite outing. It’s sort of like running an errand, in that I can pick up groceries and all. Plus, the kids can get a snack at the customer service desk, I can wander the aisles looking for samples, and maybe we’ll hang out in a booth after shopping to eat a snack together. Mine is pretty new and big, and I don’t go at particularly crowded times, so it can be an altogether lovely experience.
Except the times when I get cart rage. You see, my local store has three of the kid-friendly double-seat shopping carts. Three is not a lot, especially in an area with a pretty high density of twins. I end up driving around both sides of the store, trying to scope out an available cart before I park. Sometimes there are none to be found, so I have to use the stroller, and am thereby confined to only purchasing as much (or, rather, as little) as can fit in the under-seat basket. Or, I get inside the car thinking there’s a double cart available, only to find it is not, and then I get to put one kid in the seat and one in the main basket. Not safe. I don’t dig those carts because they’re cute and red, I need them so that I can effectively shop and contain my toddlers at the same time. And I know people would freak out if they were not contained, and I know people give me the stinkeye when they see one of my kids just standing in the cart.
The moms of more-than-one can imagine my rage when those carts are taken by people with only one child. ONE child, in one of the only two-seat carts. ONE child, who very frequently is not only old enough that she is probably too BIG for the one-seat carts, but who also is so BIG that she actually has no interest in even RIDING in the cart. So mom is ambling around, carelessly blocking aisles, with a big fricking EMPTY shopping cart. Or, even better, just HOARDS the cart, EMPTY, while the kid plays in the kiddie area or sits in a booth for a snack. Only their coats in the cart.
Yesterday I almost flipped my lid. We’d already had a rough afternoon, with a too-short nap. We decided to hit up Whole Foods, and even managed to get one of the coveted carts. Wohoo! The kids were contained, I could actually get a normal amount of groceries. Would you believe that, as I was paying, I was all but stalked and chased out of the store so that a mom with ONE kid could take my cart?! Seriously, one of the (crazy) bagger ladies (who won’t stop touching my kids) literally hustled me out of the store, followed me to my car, and snagged the cart for the lady with one four-year-old. “But don’t feel rushed,” she said.
I was already in a bad mood with cranky kids, so I felt a little more ripshit pissed off than was appropriate to the situation. But it’s an issue with some frustrating history. I know, I know. The kid thinks the cart is neat and really wants it. I get it. But dear people with one kid: please pause for just one second and remember that those of us who have to drag two kids to the store don’t take those carts because they’re cool… we take them because we need the capacity. And while I’m not saying people with a single child shouldn’t be allowed to use them, I am saying that maybe you should think about the fact that there are only three of them.
And just cut me a fucking break. I need it.
/rant
