Have you ever gone shopping with a toddler? Following their initial excitement of being taken for a ride in the car, and getting to ride in the shopping cart, they begin... "I want a treat!" ... "I need to pee!".... "I'm hungry!"... "How much longer?!"... Then there are the inevitable temper tantrums when things just don't go their way, which leads to the glares of everyone around and total embarrassment making you question why you ever believed taking your toddler shopping was a good idea in the first place. Well, if you have had to do this, then you know that taking your significant other shopping with you warrants almost the exact same reaction.
Unlike my mother, I don't go into a store and molest every item sitting on the shelves (sorry mom, but you know you do this). Typically I'm not one of those women who go into a store to browse around see what I could find. I usually have a predetermined list, then I check the websites to see what is available, and I go in with a set mission: In and Out quickly as possible. I usually even time my shopping trips at times I feel are least busy. Nevertheless, on the few occasions that Dan has accompanied me, mere minutes pass before he feels as though his life is coming to end - especially if we go to Walmart.
Dan once described the air at Walmart as if it sucks the life out of you. He'd probably tell you he was allergic to it (like his onion allergy) if he thought you'd believe that. And so while I am rushing around to make sure we have all our household necessities, he is complaining about how hungry he is all the while passing sly glances to the other men being dragged around the store like they share some kind of secret pain.
Most people would think the natural solution to the problem would be to just not take him with me. However that option can be just as bad. See if you come home with nothing, men roll their eyes at you like what were you at all that time and you came home with nothing!? Or you come home and they want to know what you bought, then when they find out how much it cost, they say "Next time I am coming with you!"
So you see, with Dan away, its a not an issue. I can shop til I drop, I can spend til I'm broke, and I don't have to answer to anyone!
