By Jason Weening
When we last parted ways, my patient wife and I were about to exit Costco with our three smallest kids, ages 1, 4, and 6. I had abandoned her there for an hour and a half while she and the young’uns enjoyed a leisurely stroll past sample distributors and 12-packs of socks. We were now waiting in the check-out line and I had to take a call from work (I need to work so we can continue to visit Costco). I was wandering around the food tables talking on the phone when I noticed my wife coming towards me with all of the kids but none of the groceries.
You’d think by now we would have increased her debit card’s daily limit to more than $1,000. But we have not. When you’re buying for a family of 12 at Costco you can hardly get out of there without spending $1,000. So, like an exciting field trip, we got to visit the fancy check-out corner behind the normal check-out counters where I could use my card to pay. Since I had missed lunch and spent the last few minutes wandering around all the people carrying out hot dogs and pizza slices, I decided to get some pizza myself. And since we wanted to make our lives more difficult, we bought ice cream cones for the kids…and mom. I was smart enough to get Mabel, the four-year-old, a cup of ice cream instead of a cone. Being clever, I grabbed 80 or 90 napkins for when the ice cream cups and cones got in the van.
We were finally on our way out. The two children happily strolled along eating their cupped and coned ice cream. Baby Juniper happened to notice the ice cream cone my wife was eating right in front of her. And politely began to grab and reach for it. We don’t always feed our one-year-old ice cream but when we do…we also grab 80 or 90 napkins.
We got outside into the beautiful spring weather which felt a lot like winter. Like many six-year-old boys, our son thought it would be a good idea to pass on wearing a warm coat today and just wear a zip-up hoodie. He did his best to stay out of the wind, hidden behind the grocery cart while we walked to the van. On a positive note, his ice cream wasn’t melting too fast in the snow flurries.
I had conveniently scheduled my day so I could do a video call with some clients while we drove home from Costco. We were perilously close to my meeting time when we arrived back at the van. I had to login and get ready for my call so I plopped down in the passenger seat ready to get this show on the road. I’m not sure how my patient wife got the cart unloaded into the van while juggling three kids and three ice creams and keeping them quiet while I did my call but she did! She’s a trooper. Time flies, dad! Make every moment count! Even the drippy ice cream ones!
Jason Weening gets ice cream for his 10 kids and one patient wife on hot summer days. Read more stories in his new book, “Yes, Dear…I’m Watching Them” on Amazon.