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Baby's Day Out

By Belinda Clarke

Anxious to eat before I passed out from hunger, and eager to start home, I have to admit I cut my son's lunch a bit short. Of course, I would pay for this later. With my boy in my lap, and a pacifier in his mouth, I gobbled my salad and cornbread and chugged what was left of my drink.

Less than five minutes later, we were headed back home. Though a little stressed out, I gave myself a pat on the back for dealing calmly with both a diaper disaster and a feeding. With more than a mile to walk before reaching home, I copped a Zen attitude and smiled bravely. "No problem," I told Nolan. "We'll be home before you know it."

A long 25 minutes later we were back home. Nolan cried practically the whole way. I have never been so happy to see my front door! Without a second thought I ditched the behemoth stroller on the front walk (hey, all the moms on our street do it) snatched up my baby and raced inside. The stroller could wait, I told myself, as I headed for the jar of M&Ms in the kitchen.

An hour or so later I had recovered enough from our adventure to return my husband's three messages.

"How long were you gone?!" he asked anxiously. I quickly recapped our trek and told him that I might try and take a shorter walk next time.

He laughed and said, "Hey, when I take him out, we only go around the block!!"

I then made another phone call, this time to the salon to make an appointment for a much-needed Mommy's Day Out.