Cover Me Murphy!

For a few scary minutes tonight I was thinking of taking the whole crew to the mall this week for the final Christmas shop. The mall???? The week before Christmas???? Yeah, don't worry. It's not happening.

I was also thinking back to this summer and the challenge it was to get out of the house with all the kids. First I'd herd them out the door to the van. After everyone is all buckled safely in their car seat, I'd go back in the kitchen to close up the house and get the things I can't safely carry while herding/carrying the littles. Ya know - keys, glasses, purse, snacks, bills, donation bag for S*lvation Army and a boiling travel mug of coffee.

Getting them (really, me) ready to leave the house feels like I'm in one of those WWII guy movies: "Cover me Murphy! I'm goin'in!" as I leap from the foxhole, dodging bullet fire...racing towards the bombed out buildings, grenades exploding everywhere, heading across the deserted Village courtyard towards certain danger.

Hmmm.  At my house it is more like: step over the dog in the doorway, grab my coffee mug, scoop the car keys, race through the downstairs looking for my phone or my glasses(which are usually in my pocket or on my head the whole time), pick up the pile of bills to mail, stop and stare vacantly trying to remember what else I was supposed to do today, put everything down and look for appointment book in pile of papers on kitchen counter, check appointment book, double check kitchen calendar, pick everything up again and spin on the landing with a purse flung over my shoulder, heading bravely towards the child filled mini. PHEW.

Yeah. There's no way I'm taking the kids to the mall this week. Cover me, Murphy! I'm NOT goin' in.