A Banner Day

When I looked at my Sunday list, I braced myself for the idea that I should not expect to achieve it; after all, it was quite ambitious given that the babysitting option by Savta Shira fell through this morning.

After making several essential phone calls, Raphaela and I set out in the car around 10 am.

First we went to the bank, where I organized certain fail safe options until I could transfer in money and start earning money at work again.

Then we went to the garage, to get the air pressure in my tires checked; when the engine did not start last week, I wanted to be sure that the rest of car was safe for driving.

Then we parked at the Mega Mall (Hadar) in Talpiyot, Jerusalem, I fastened Raphaela into the sling, and the real challenge began. In the next two hours, I managed to go to Office Depot and even buy a new printer/fax/scanner for the office; I did an amazing job of comparison shopping and found Pampers diapers at a great price in the pharmacy; and then I completed the first real food shop since we returned from the US almost one week ago.

The cupboards had been quite bare, and the food shopping list was quite long. Since this was our last stop of the errands list, Raphaela started to get antsy; instead of continuing to carry her in the sling, I carefully placed her in the child seat of the shopping cart, surrounding her with my jacket and pocket book on either side, in case she tilted.

Which amazingly, she did not. She sat so straight and tall and strong, and I felt so proud of her that I almost started crying and dancing for her in the store. Throughout the entire supermarket experience, she did not once cry or kvetch or try to do something dangerous, other than nibbling on a corner of the shopping list. (Paper has lots of fiber, right?) When there was a delay in the check out, she sat quietly and looked around, occasionally smiling at passers-by. When I got her back into the car, I gave her a bottle, which she held herself and eventually fell asleep in the car seat.

Even though she was sleeping, I told her how much I loved her, how I was proud of her, how much I enjoyed her company, and how thankful I was that she let me get everything done. Today I felt truly blessed as a parent of a six and a half month old, and was damn proud of myself as a single parent.

Thank G-d, phtoo phtoo, my child is a blessing.