The Mommy Rat Race
By Jennifer Ismail

Running an errand with two children under three should be considered an Olympic event. Just getting everyone dressed, fed and happy at the same time is a major accomplishment let alone taking them out and about and getting anything accomplished.

The other day, I needed to go to a government office to take care of some business. Because of their limited hours for counter service and not being able to find anyone to accompany me or babysit, I ended up taking my two month old son and my two year old daughter along. I went early, hoping for a quick in and out.

No such luck. <continued below>

I went early so I was the first one to be served, but my son started to cry while I was talking to the desk clerk. It turned out I needed to fill in a form so I decided to just do that while I was already there. My son continued to cry and my daughter proceeded to pull all of my ID and credit cards out of my wallet and strew them around the floor. A kind man helped me to collect my cards and I snatched the form away from my daughter just as she was about to decorate it with the pen I left there to tempt her. As I once again approached the counter with my now wailing son, my daughter began to play with the door to the reception area and managed to pinch the tip of her finger so that she was then crying too.

As I was squatting down to hug her I noticed the smell. Both kids had pooped.

The only good thing about the episode is that people are usually much more willing to help you quickly when you have such a loud smelly entourage with you.

I held my head high and ignored the pitying looks as I left the office. I had to change two diapers and feed both kids before we left the parking lot, but at least I had done what I set out to do without breaking down crying myself.

Honestly, doesn’t that deserve some sort of medal?

Jennifer Ismail is a stay at home mom to her daughter Sarah and infant son Benjamin. She enjoys writing lighthearted essays from her personal experiences. Her work has appeared in the newspaper as well as on 20ishparents.com and babyuniversity.com. Email the author.