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Update
2/11/07
Easy
Having triplets is EASY.
No stress, no work really. Okay, so that's
what I would have you believe if I saw you out
at a mall while I'm pulling my 4 little ones in
the Choo-Choo wagon. I'm so accustomed to
doing my best to avoid conflict or tantrums in
public so that I can disprove all of those
"misconceptions" about multiples. But
sometimes....
A recent trip to Wal-Mart
without the benefit of my beloved Choo-Choo
wagon got me thinking about all of the negative
comments we receive on our outings.
I loaded the triplets up into a
shopping cart and had my game plan to get in,
get what I need and get out as quickly as
possible. I had never done the shopping
cart thing, but I was sure the novelty of it
would keep them at bay long enough to pick up a
few items quickly. WRONG!
Long story short, there was
screaming, kicking, pulling of hair, climbing,
grabbing, hitting. If I thought we drew
attention with the wagon, WOW! I saw looks
of horror, pity and annoyance from other
shoppers as I pried children apart, desperately
opened bags of candy and chips as a diversion,
begged, reasoned, and reprimanded. A
nightmare. And had it been a long shopping
trip, I'd have hightailed it out of there in a
hurry. But I needed three things.
By the time it all fell apart, I was on my way
to getting the third item and heading for the
checkout.
So, back to what I was saying.
This all got me thinking about the negative
comments. I found in just that one trip
all of the justification in the world to hear
someone say "better you than me," "wow, I'm glad
they're yours and not mine," "you've really got
your hands full," and even the dreaded "man, I
would shoot myself!" Okay, well, maybe not
justification. But if ever there were a
time when someone would appropriately not want
to be me, it was then.
There have been other times
recently that I've had out-of-body experiences
looking around me as three cranky hungry
toddlers thrash on the floor in a frenzied
triple temper tantrum and think to myself, "I
must be made of some pretty tough stuff."
There are many who couldn't handle it, or
wouldn't want to handle it. I think we
each have our threshold for pain and suffering.
Maybe not such a great analogy.
Though I never want to hear
those nasty thoughtless comments coming from
strangers - least of all when it's in front of
my children - I will try to remember that
perhaps those people have dealt with one or two
temper tantrums themselves and just never want
to go back.
I love my children and I will be
happy when one day we can go out without major
incident. Until then I'll continue to put
on the air that I've got it all under control.
I'll continue to smile nonchalantly to
strangers, prodding them into believing that
it's easy to shop with triplets (until it all
falls apart). Now, if only I could get my
trio to pretend along with me...
NOW that I have that off of my
chest, I'll share the latest...
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Kristi's birthday falls in
just a few short hours. My oldest
baby! Can it really be that I have a
21-year-old daughter? I remember labor
with her like it was getting ready to happen
tomorrow. Time just flies so quickly.
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We just got back from a
great trip to Orlando this past weekend.
All things considered, I'd say it went very
smoothly. Thank goodness for leashes
and crib tents! Disney was a blast for
the wee ones.
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We went to the Florida State
Fair today. We passed on all of the
fried lard balls, fried Pepsi, fried
veggies. They'll fry anything at a
fair! We did have a fairly nice
morning.
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Pictures follow of our new
table. It'll seat 10 comfortably (and
more). I love it!
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My little girls dancing in
somewhat synchronized fashion
here.
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