For my first post, I thought I would write about some recent situations where I experienced internal conflict, trying to decide if the decision I had made was brave or just plain stupid. Why? Because I tend to ask myself this question following many decisions I make involving my kids. But if we never test the limits, we never really know what the limits are, right? At least that’s what I’ll keep telling myself.

So here you go, the latest scenarios…

The Grocery Store

Trips to the grocery store do not typically end well. The boys want a car cart. Both start out in the car part of the cart. Older son (Braden) doesn’t want to sit next to younger son (Devin), so he moves to the seat near me. Devin wants to be where his older brother is, but Braden doesn’t want his younger brother near him, and so it continues until neither of them are in the car, and I’m thinking, “Why the heck did I get this HUGE cart that is impossible to maneuver and neither of them are in the car!” But I digress.

The latest scenario occurred when, before leaving for the grocery, Braden said to me, “Mommy, can we take our shopping cart?” – referring to our mini plastic shopping cart that we use at home. I said, “Sure.” It was a beautiful day, I was feeling good, so why not?

My husband was in disbelief that I would even consider such a thing – obviously of the mindset that I was not being brave, but quite stupid. He said he would be waiting anxiously to hear how it went.

When we got to the store, we filled Braden’s cart first and then filled my cart. At the end of every aisle, Braden would look both ways to avoid running into anyone. And when it was time to check out, Braden put all items from his cart on the belt and then put the filled bags back into his cart.

It could not have gone better. And on the way home, I said, “Braden, I am so proud of you. You were such a big help in there.” His response? “I’m happy to do it.”

Verdict: NOT STUPID 

Nature Hike with No Stroller

We have two neighbor families that we hang out with just about every Tuesday and Thursday. Our group consists of three adults (two women and one man), and seven kids (all 3 years old and younger – and all boys except for the youngest).

On Tuesday this past week, we decided to go on a nature hike at a local park. The hike was at least ¾ mile each way, and our destination was a playground. After we got our maps, the man in our group said we shouldn’t bring our strollers, since the path would be a little too rough. I looked at my other friend who looked completely okay with that, so I calmly said, “Okay,” although inside I was thinking, “No stroller?!” I came to find later that the friend I had looked to for some sort of reaction was freaking out inside but saw that I was calm, so she figured she was overreacting.

Thankfully, the kids all did GREAT! The fact that it was practically raining caterpillars didn’t hurt; remember all but one are boys. Devin must have played with those caterpillars for a half hour – picking them up and putting them back on their trees. And on the way home, Devin was sleeping, but to Braden, I said, “Braden, I’m so proud of you. You were so good on that hike.” And he said, “Yea, I think I’m growing up.”

Verdict: NOT STUPID 

Luckily, things worked out in these two instances (but believe me, I’m sure it won’t be long before I share a “stupid” decision). How about you? What brave/stupid decisions have you made and how did they turn out?

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