Expecting rejection from the Boy Scouts

Today my plans to be Busy and Efficient while running errands were initially waylaid by AM, who screamed from the second he was buckled into his carseat. So the first part of the plan was scrapped, and I drove to a nice local park so Miss M could run around while I nursed AM.

Half an hour later, it became clear that we were not going to get to any part of the errands.

Miss M, who previously had been very timid about the sprinkler at the park, got over her shyness. She got wet. And then proceeded to go back and forth between the sprinkler and the sand pit. One gritty, soaked toddler coming up!

But the reason why the Boy Scouts would never have me (not that I would have them!), besides the obvious, is that I was not prepared for this. I did not have her bathing suit, a swim diaper, a towel, her water shoes, or a change of clothes. The park hadn't been in the original plan, but the problem was that I hadn't thought beyond the plan.

I am not someone who can conceive of every eventuality and plan accordingly. I go based on previous experience and occasionally get screwed. My kids, to this point, have been relatively neat--as much as a baby and a toddler can be. Not spitters, tend to poop only at home, not horribly messy eaters. A little banana on Miss M's shirt doesn't bother me, and the marker marks never fully come off until she's soaked in the tub for a few minutes. So I travel with the minimum required: diapers for all, wipes, a change of clothes for AM, enough snacks for Miss M to eat at the rate of one every 30-40 minutes, and bottles of water. Because, see, based on previous experience, I don't need a change of clothes for Miss M or for myself.

And I hate hauling around stuff that I don't use. My ideal is to arrive home with exactly two diapers (one for each)--and AM's change of clothes--in the bag and nothing else, because that means I didn't overpack. I think this is leftover from my pre-mom days. I never carried a purse, so I traveled with a bare minimum of things: keys, wallet, sometimes a book. And during the summer, when I wasn't wearing a coat with big pockets, I was constantly giving said bare minimum to Taxman to carry in his pants pocket.

It's odd how there are still quirks from that life left over. Two years, one month, and one day haven't been quite enough to blot out the previous me. I guess that's good. If I squint I just may see a day in the future when I can leave the house in under 90 minutes. With just keys, wallet, and cellphone. And kids, who will be hauling their own stuff.