Written by Rowonna McNeely – Last week found me in a very similar situation to a story I told y’all about a year or so ago. We had pulled up to the grocery store and I had plans to run in for three items. Aaron and Kiera were going to wait in the truck. As I unbuckled my seat belt, Kiera spied the fire truck parked outside the store.
“Mom! Can I go in and say hi to the fighterfighter?” She excitedly asked.
She’s seven but when she gets excited about seeing the firefighters, she manages to revert back to calling them fighterfighter.
“Yes.” I responded.
As we walked in the store, Kiera pulled out a basket for us. “Can we get some fruit?” She asked.
“Yes, but don’t you want to find the firefighters first?” I asked knowing that if we missed finding the guys, she would be disappointed.
‘Yes, please!” She answered emphatically. And there we were… walking up and down the aisles of the grocery store, stalking our local firefighters.
“There’s one.” I pointed at a lone firefighter as he picked up a can and turned in the opposite direction from us. We followed behind him, finally catching up to him when he met up with the rest of the firefighters.
I motioned to them so that they would see Kiera following them. They stopped and shook her hand as she managed to say, “hi” to them. After all our stalking, that was about the extent of her conversation.
After thanking them for stopping, Kiera and I began our shopping. But, my three items quickly changed to five items, then six and so on as Kiera reminded me what else we might need.
We stopped and picked her up a piece of chicken from the deli, an orange from the produce section, macaroni and cheese to go with her chicken… by the time we reached the front I had ten items.
As I turned into a check out line, Kiera exclaimed, “But…you didn’t get everything on your list, Mom!”
“Yes, I did, baby.” I replied. “I only needed those three things.” I pointed to the groceries in the basket.
She looked over the basket with a sad look on her face. “You only have three and I have seven things.”
I smiled at her and responded, before glancing to see if our line was moving. “Yes, but that’s ok.”
As I watched the cashier check out the person in front of us, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kiera reach into our basket. She pulled out her orange and macaroni and cheese.
I turned, puzzled to see what she was doing. That’s when my little girl almost brought me to tears. I watched as she began to walk away from me, her head hung down as she carried her two items.
“Kiera. Baby, where are you going?” I asked.
I’ll never forget her face as she turned back to me. She was slightly sad but had a determined set to her face and shoulders. She took two steps back to me as she responded to my question.
“You didn’t get all your stuff. I’ll put mine back so you can get yours.” She answered.
I quickly stepped away from my basket and gathered her in my arms, hugging her to me. “Oh, baby.” I said as I buried my face in her hair. “You are precious. I promise that I got everything I needed on my list.”
Continuing to hold her, I went on, “You don’t worry. If I couldn’t get you those things, I would tell you. I promise. Now, put them back in the basket.”
She turned her face up to me and smiled her beautiful smile. She quickly hugged me again and whispered, “I love you, Mommy.”
Oh my sweet, child. I love you too.
Thank you for sharing in our weekly journeys. If you have missed any of our past stories, check out our new blog page at www.lifea2k.net or drop us a line at lifea2k@yahoo.com.
Rowonna McNeely
Graphic Designer - Mommy to Kiera
Rowonna McNeely works with her husband, Aaron, at Willie’s T’s in the Art Department, regularly volunteers in the community, and has her hands full with her daughter, Kiera, along with two dogs and one cat.
Rowonna is a graduate of May High School (Go Tigers!) and grew up on a dairy farm. She enjoys reading, creating, swimming, and planning events. She’s also a bit of a klutz.
