I know it's cliche' to say that as a mother I have to remember so many things, but really, if I had to write down all the things I do have to remember to keep it together on a daily basis, that is all I would be doing, because the processes are tedious to running a family! But over the summer, when we would get in the car and be on our way to the beach and Wesley would say, "Mo'om, why didn't you bring my so & so toy?" I'd reply, "I don't know, why didn't you?" And then he would get infuriated and usually launch into a whole full blown tantrum. I would reply, "I remembered the 4 towels, the sunscreen, the plethora of snacks (even the craisins that I know you love so much), the dry clothes, the chairs, the car keys, the sunglasses, the water toys, my cell phone, the drinks, the stroller, the diapers, the lunch, etc, etc... and so on, doesn't all that count? Do you have to dwell on the ONE thing I forgot that I knew you wanted, but could live without? If we were counting points, I would still get a 95% and that is well over passing grade.
Well, certainly there is more value in some things than others if we were giving scores and points for items we need when we go out because this weekend, we headed down to Six Flags with the kids for a fun company sponsored day and I forgot something KEY! Let me just preface it with the fact that we decided to avoid the crowds and get to the Safari part of the park 15 minutes before they open at 9, so that meant we had to leave at 6:45AM since we had a pick up to make in Manhattan along the way. That said, my cherubic kids did do a great job of getting themselves ready including dressing and brushing their teeth. On the other hand, Luke isn't old enough to do such things yet and he wasn't even awake, so we just scooped him up in his drowsy state of still being jammied and buckled him into the carseat so he could still sleep if he wanted to. I grabbed his clothes along with the packed bag of 27 other things in prep for the day and off we went! We made great time and had a nice drive on the Turnpike and then pulled into the lineup for the Safari--we were in a top position! It was exciting until I realized, We don't have any shoes for Luke!!!! Oops! Then, that's all I could think about as we sat in anticipation of the animalicious Safari ahead of us. Is it possible that there is a spare pair tucked under a seat, if so, it's probably only one and not both. I scavenged and came up with nothing. Indeed, we were 2 hours away from home and I forgot a key item! Lots of thoughts went racing through my head: Is there something else I could use for shoes? Do they sell shoes at Six Flags? Would I miss out on all the fun if I skipped out and just went outlet shopping nearby? Would there be another family that would just happen to have a spare pair of size 6 shoes, preferable Wide and no Hello Kitty logos?, Ok, pink would be fine, I guess beggars can't be choosers. Then ultimately,I thought "what am I going to do?!" Keep him suppressed in the stroller ALL day? Impossible. My only hope was that we would find a shop with some sort of shoes, so off we went. To make an already too long story shorter, after hitting 8 or 9 of Six Flags' stores, we finally found the bargain basement store where most things were 50% off. One helpful clerk later and a trip to the back stockroom, we ended up with a leftover pair of watershoes. Perfect! Luke was happy and thrilled to get out of his stroller finally!
The experience had me thinking, obviously, and reminded me of one of our trips to Italy 6 years ago when Sophia was Luke's age. We were going back to Pisa where we lived after coming home for a school break for a few days. We had a lot on our minds since our NYC apartment was still on the market and we had to decide if we were to stay in Italy for more semesters or to just come home after the first semester. Anyway, we took off to the airport for the night flight and when we got to JFK, I realized it that I hadn't packed a single diaper in my bag. Oops! I looked at every store in JFK, but no one had diapers, I looked for another mother, but didn't see anyone with a comparable or older child. Off we went and I just prayed for the best. The "best" being that we wouldn't have any #2s that night or we would be in deep "you know what" literally! Our prayers were answered, and we made it all the way to Pisa on that one diaper, albeit heavy once we arrived. Indeed a moment when I told myself, I will never forget to pack diapers again!
I'm certain that I'll be more aware of packing shoes for Luke from now on too, but maybe it's just my way of getting back at Evan for teasing me of always overpacking. In the end, which is better to be prepared or to lack an important item?
So, what's the worst item that you've forgotten?
