Mr. and Mrs. Newparents

We were at Target on Friday (all four of us), headed for the car. Steve had Colby in the cart and I had Kailin by the hand. There was a car about to back out so we stopped. The lady in the car waved us by with this enormous smile on her face. I waved and we scooted past and crossed the lane (well, Kailin and I did - I thought our car was on the other side, but not so much....). As the car went past I saw that the woman was not the only occupant as I had previously suspected. Her husband was in the back seat with the baby. He looked over and smiled about as widely as she had. I chuckled to myself.

I'm not bashing new parents or parents who ride in the back with their baby. I just used that as an identifier that they were most likely new parents. Seasoned parents would more likely both be seated in the front seat - having come to terms with the idea that babies cry sometimes (and/or that one of them has developed adult onset backseat car sickness).

Anyway, my point in all of this is that I came to the conclusion that in the glow of their new parenthood they were looking at my family and envisioning their own family in such an outing when their child graduates to moving on his/her own and sitting up in the cart and talking (your ear off all day long....I digress....). They were basking in the glow of the perfectness....ignoring completely the idea that Kailin was on the verge of a tantrum, Colby was nearly wet-through, and we wanted only to get home, get them fed, and get them to BED. Ha ha ha. I, in turn, was ignoring their up all night, always feeding, burping, and booping needs and reminiscing about having just one child who could not speak or move of her own volition - and how simple things were back then. I wouldn't trade in what I have for what they do - but a nice break would be good sometimes. Ha ha. The grass is always greener.....