midwife's muse

The nightmare that is shopping

My feet are killing me. I have a raging headache and I feel sooo depressed. Let this be a warning to any other Mother whose daughter asks her to go shopping for 'something really special' to wear. Youngest daughter, the one who had a baby 5 weeks ago, is going to a wedding reception on Saturday. Understandably she wants to look good, even more understandable when you know that it is her partners ex who is the bride. On the way to the shopping centre I tried dropping hints about slight changes in your figure, what looked good before you had baby may not look quite as good now. Remember that your boobs are twice the size and need support. I'm perhaps painting a bleak picture. Really she looks very good, whether she had just had a baby or not. All the extra pounds have gone, and the tummy, although not like a washboard, is not flabby. Basically it's the boobs though, what were 36E are now 36G. We went into shops, and out of shops, then back into the same shops. Then Jack got fed-up and started wailing. She fed him. He still wailed. She got upset, I told her to carry on round the shops and I would go off with him, he wouldn't stop crying. It ended up with me pushing the pushchair with one hand and holding him in the other arm. Eventually he fell asleep, so I found her again and we recommenced our venture. It took 5 hours, but we did it. She has an outfit she is happy about.

I had a mission as well. It is her 21st Birthday in 10 days, and I needed to buy her a special present. Luckily one of the shop windows that Jack liked was a jewellers, all the sparkly things I guess. Anyway, he and I were standing there, admiring 'the pretties', when I saw it. A white gold bracelet with little diamonds deep set. Quite delicate, not her usual choice, but matches her eternity ring beautifully. I called her over and asked her what she would like for her birthday - and she said she wanted a bracelet. I called out an assistant and daughter pointed out a few bracelets that she liked, and that was one of them! It was wonderful. I kept quiet whilst she tried them on, and then she chose..........the one I had thought I would like to buy her. She loves it, but she is not allowed to have it until her birthday, I'm mean like that.

Now the grumble. Why don't people control their children in shops? In one shop there was loads of the merchandise lying on the floor. Soon found out why. There were two children, aged about 5 taking the clothes off the racks, throwing them on the floor and then stamping on them to try and break the hangers! Mum and Dad were about 6 feet away paying absolutely no attention to them. When daughter bent down to pick up one of the things on the floor one of the children pushed her and I said 'don't do that'. Mum immediately told me to mind my own f*****g business. I was about to respond when daughter grabbed me and the pushchair and walked quickly out of the shop. Apparently I should just ignore things like that otherwise I 'might regret it', also, I mustn't look at people. Add to that the hoards of pre-pubescent boys, loitering, leering and swearing, and one throwing-up to the strings of lotita's marching along, forcing everyone else to move out of their way and I have this insane urge to send any child, over the age of 5, to a boot camp and forcing their parents to undertake some kind of training programme. Help, I've just turned into my Mother. Lock me up, save yourselves.

2.6.04 20:37