SuperMom

Women wear many hats, and Moms even more. Some of my hats are: me hat (still a little dusty but is slowly making its way out of the closet), wife, mom, dispatcher, teacher, daughter, friend, enumerator (fancy name for census taker), SIL, DIL, secretary for my FIL, and on and on.

Within the mom hat, most women know there are little hats that can be interchanged at any moment. They coordinate by color and size, too. Ok, in my world of matchy matchy, they simply must;0

But once in awhile I add another accessory. A bright pink Supermom cape.

Tuesday and Thursday nights are my kid's main activity nights. Thursday being the worst as I pick up the school age kiddos from a Bible club at school at 5 pm and head

to drop nephew off with his mom down the road from taking #2 to dance at 5:30. I then run errands since #1 has to be at Tae kwon Do at 6:45. Most weeks the younger 2 head home with dad who meets me at the school. Sadly, this week was not the normal night. Husband being a 24-hour shift firefighter means for 3 weeks every 9ish weeks he is on duty. Yes, you guessed it, he was on duty. I had 3 children to run errands. No problem, in my lifestyle having all the kids to accomplish things is not unusual. But this night means there are time constraints. You all know kids and time DO NOT work well together. Alas, I stop at the non-existent telephone booth...quickly take off my sweater to reveal my SuperMom attire and of course hot pink cape, LOL.

We are off with lightning speed, the stars align and cars veer off the road allowing me to soar to our first stop with ease. Michaels is the destination. Of course #3 having the same name says since this store has his name it is his right? Sure, I respond well aware that he knows this is in fact a lie but curbing the further discussion. Time is ticking people.

The kids are off, running everywhere, sensing the bomb of disappointment and frustration for lack of task completion. We arrive at the store only for a potty break. Really, really?? No opportunity to dawdle or argue, just go go go, literally GO! I then weave in and out of aisles and people to achieve the goal for this store. A friendly cashier almost blew the momentum, but we made it out of there with little trouble. Upon exiting the store, I get a whiff of a raw sewage type smell. As I buckle the baby in, I say phew, are you stinky to her. This results in laughter from the boys who smell it too and know better. She nonchalantly says no, I no poopy and farts big grin on her face. Laughter is acceptable as long as it does not prevent forward motion. Onward we go.

Dierberg's was next on the list, just a hop, skip, and a jump from where we already were. Do I walk to not deal with car seat yuck...nah kids little legs are a crutch in this race. A small attempt to sway with various food requests special to this store alone almost causes and uprising of the troops. I squelch it with fury. Oh, and lest not forget the way #1 cut off a gentleman 2 strides ahead of us to get in line. The man bowed to the loss and allowed my crew to check out first. Many thanks to the sheep in wolf's clothing. 2 down, 2 to go.

Walmart, here we come. This is where the rubber meets the road. Only the strong survive. The depth of choices, the number of unknown people and obstacles is nearly too great for even my SuperMom cape. Nevertheless, we bare down and pushed through smoke flying. I managed to align the popcorn chicken request from the boys with the produce purchases nearby. This is one time having a 9-year-old with you is a blessing, even if he is not quite tall enough to be seen by the deli workers on his own.

We work our way around avoiding any extra aisles, any extra requests and the kids are like magic. They have embraced the impossibility with I think I can engine spirit. This may be the secret to the boys ability to get along, a mutual task to complete. Hmmm thinking...thinking..Oh SNAP out of it MOVE it MOVE it.

The checkout line is the only thing stopping us from setting a record. How many items do we have? As if my eldest son has read my mind, or maybe great minds think alike he scans the cart with me and together we say 11 items. Again, we snag the shortest line just ahead of an elderly woman whom I felt a little bad for just a moment. But she seemed spry enough to hang with the big dogs, so a polite smile and nod was all she got. Approval in her eyes and all remains well.

Don't look at the clock, just push on, I tell myself. Speed bump..#1 MUST use the restroom. Must Mommy. Of course, like father, like son. GO FAST, and don't run I shout as he is nearly in the bathroom. #3 falls into the power of suggestion category, and I knowingly say hurry and stay with #1. Praise the Lord, I am within eyesight of the restroom. Receipt in hand, boys appear after refilling with water from the drinking fountain. Pit stop over, boys I say out loud, which gets two Huh's, but I smile to myself when they look at each other, shrug shoulders, and hunker down for the difficult trek to the van. Wait, what do I hear? Potty mommy is a soft teeny voice. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. #4 says it again, louder this time. I stop in my tracks, almost choking on the dust the boys created in their haste. Eye to eye, we stare at each other, and then I say 1 minute, ok? Really, I know she has a pull-up on, and these moments when I don't react perpetuate her up-and-down attitude about it at home, but I am wearing the SuperMom cape. Wait, light bulb appears.

Last stop Walgreens. Boys are happily eating chicken along with packed sides in the car. I do the unthinkable and tell them to stay seated, don't open the door for anyone and I will be right back. Eva and I head to the restroom as quickly as humanly possible, dodging the clerk who greets us. #4 lets loose the moment I set her down and onto pick up the picture and one other purchase. We are in and out of that place so fast, I am pretty sure we didn't even touch the ground.

Back at the car boys still munching, all buckled we pull out on the road. I look in the direction of the clock and it reads 6:26.

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, the chorus of angels sings. We will make it to Tae Kwon Do in time for #1 to change and be on time. The cape has it.