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| Source: antonioandrade.tumblr.com via Michelle on Pinteres |
Costco carts are great (read: HUGE). I had two carseats and both my older boys loaded in along with all the things I was buying. We may have been a spectacle, but everyone was behaving and having a good time. Then came the part of having twins babies I have not gotten used to yet...the attention. I swear to you every other person in Costco felt the need to stop me and proclaim, "You have twins! I can't believe you're out in this kind of weather."
Notice above that I did not say we were having a blizzard. It was snowing...lightly...
Two of those dozens of people did touch my heart. The first was a much younger mother whom I passed as she carted kids out of the bathroom and I toddled my in. She remarked, "I thought I was brave bringing my three today." She was wearing her baby in her Moby wrap and had two older boys the same age as mine. It was refreshing in a sea of aghast faces, to feel like at least one other person in that store was like me.
The second person approached as I was standing in the check-out line. She asked rather shyly, "Do you mind if I ask how old your babies are?" I told her and she went on to tell me she's waiting for her babies to get out of the NICU. They were born at 33 weeks and have been in the hospital for 3-1/2 weeks. Everyone she knows has her panicking about taking them out in public once they're home and she was encouraged to see me out with mine.
I re-assured that sweet mother that babies are resilient and I'm sure she will have impeccable judgement on when her little ones are ready to venture into the big bad world. Maybe, though, I should have fed into her fear. Going out with twins does make you an anomaly people can't resist commenting on. Better to know that now than being bowled over on Day 1 with an unexpected barrage of attention.
I'm grateful for well-intentioned strangers, even if they don't quite know what to say.
2 comments:
I'm wondering if you enjoy being a spectacle even a little. I love it. Also I'm dying to know if you had anyone say anything about you having your hands full. That seems to be the phrase I get every time I go to Costco. Usually that is when I have one or two less than all my kids. I'm going to love going with all five. It might get to the point of criticism.
That's so neat that you were an encouragement to the new mom of twins. I remember the days when my little ones garnered lots of attention (and I don't even have twins!). Now I can look back on those days as a sweet memory...then, it just seemed to add to my already long trip to the store!
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