It's in the Mail

So today was one of those days where I really felt like I was Super Woman and I could conquer the world. We started our day with the grocery shopping (which is a story on it's own), lunch, naps, and snack. Things were going along as they normally do except with more efficiency than I have ever had. Everything was clicking into place and I was feeling very good about myself. That's when I made the decision that would change the day and my energy level.

I decided it was so nice outside that we needed to go out and play. I loaded everything up (toys, water, the dog, etc) and out we went. Things were great until Jeffrey decided that he wanted to ride his tractor more than just in the driveway. At first I hesitated and asked him to stay "in bounds", which is nothing more than on our driveway. He kept insisting on taking his tractor out for a ride and I thought to myself, why am I reluctant to do this? Just go for a walk and let the kid ride his tractor! So that is when I said, "would you like to ride to the mailbox and get the mail?" His eyes lit up like bulbs on a Christmas Tree and immediately he began the short journey to the mailbox. Little did I know that Bubba would want to go in his walker and before I could bend down to pick him up off he went to follow his brother. I began to follow them but Molly looked sad and started to bark so I decided I should take her along with us, since I was not carrying anyone.

Please stop reading for a moment and get a good visual of what is happening. Jeffrey is riding his little green tractor with the trailer attached, Bubba is running behind him in his little walker and Molly is walking me trying to chase the boys. OK, now back to the story.

At first things were going great. Jeffrey would go ahead and then when I would yell stop he would sit and wait for me to yell go. He was no more than one driveway ahead of me but that is when it happened. Bubba picked up ADD somewhere along the way and decided to start chasing lizards with Molly. Before I knew it I had an impatient 3 year old ahead of me trying to get to the mailbox as fast as possible and then a dog and a 10 month old chasing lizards. At that very moment I knew that I was in over my head. I quickly put on my thinking cap and decided to ask Jeffrey to call out Bubba's name in an attempt to get him to follow. Bless his little heart, he stood up on his tippy toes and began yelling "BUBBA, BUBBA, MERE (come here)" It worked for a few seconds but then another lizard ran across our path and all focus was lost. OK, this was not working. New plan. I know, I know. I will bend over and pull Bubba in the direction that I need him to go. I started to do this and realized that pulling Bubba while trying to walk Molly was not going to be as easy as I thought it would be. That is when I got the brilliant idea to attach Molly to Bubba's walker and let her pull him! (OK, so you are telling yourself that this was a bad idea and after the fact I KNOW it is a bad idea but in the moment I was desperate and not fully thinking things through. Don't judge me.)

I bent down and attached Molly's leash to the front of Bubba's walker. Before I could even stand up off the two of them went. I never really considered the fact that Bubba only weighs 20 pounds and Molly is a strong as an ox. It only took about 2 seconds for me to realize that this latest plan was really bad. I took off after the two of them (and have you ever seen an overweight, almost middle age woman wearing crocks chase after a greyhound puppy?) I'm sure the neighbors had great entertainment. I chased as fast as I could until the crash happened. Thankfully, nobody was injured but Molly tried to take Bubba off road and his walker just wasn't equipped with off road tires. The walker stopped, Bubba was flung forward, but not out, and Molly was stopped in her tracks. I was able to catch up and take control of the pair again, after I caught my breath of course. I unattached the leash from the walker and decided to suck it up and pull Bubba while walking Molly. Now please know that all of this happened while Jeffrey was still screaming "BUBBA, BUBBA, MERE". I'm sure the entire community was wondering who Bubba was and why he had to mere.

Eventually, we all ended up at the mailbox, we retrieved the mail and headed back to the house. By the time I arrived home I had burnt off more calories than I do on the elliptical for 1 hour. It was then and there that I decided to make the promise to myself that I would never do that again. Lesson learned, I am NOT Super Woman.:-)