Miles and I had a couple errands to run after daycare today, one of which involved a quick stop at Trader Joe’s to pick up some things for dinner (and, at Miles’s insistence, a container of cottage cheese).
As we stepped into the store, Miles tugged away from my hand. “I can do it all myself!” he insisted (a new favorite catchphrase of his).
“You can walk by yourself,” I said as I dialed up Jaclyn to see what she needed me to pick up. “But stay close. I need to call Mommy and see what she needs us to get.”
Miles stopped in his tracks in the middle of an aisle, looked up to a random associate walking by, and said, “Hi, Mommy!” with a wave.
“No Miles,” I sighed, “that’s not your mother.” The associate was delighted though.
I started grabbing things off shelves, quickly running out of hands/arm space to use (I had clearly underestimated the number of things I’d be purchasing). The very last thing to get was a can of garbanzo beans. I pulled it from the shelf and handed it to Miles.
“Here, buddy,” I said.
He snatched it happily, then we started for the checkout. We had only made it a few steps before Miles started groaning. “No, you carry it!” he complained.
“Miles, I really need your help!” I said. “Can you please carry the can?”
“I can’t!” Miles grunted, looking as though he was carrying a medicine ball through the store. “I’m too little!”
I asked him if he could just carry it to the counter, and he begrudgingly agreed. Once we were in line, Miles’s attention turned, as you might expect, to the candy display.
“I want one!” he said, suddenly finding the strength to hold the beans in one hand so he could seize a candy bar in the other.
“You know what, buddy?” I said, nodding. “You’ve earned it.”
He then tried to grab another one. “I need one for daddy too!”
I told him I didn’t need one but that I might take a bite of his if that was okay. I’m not positive he really wanted a second candy bar for my benefit, but it was a nice sentiment.
The Perils (& Pride) of Paternity 