I Vowed ...

I vowed I'd never, ever take a cranky child to the store.  I made that vow several years ago ... before I got married, before I even had my first child.

And each time I saw a parent with a cranky child in the store, I vowed once again that I wouldn't do it.

But I had to break that vow tonight.   I was out of my prescription and knew that once Jonathan got home in a couple of hours, our evening routine needed to start and I wouldn't be able to go.

Christian woke up from his nap and I immediately told him we'd be going to Target.  He loves Target, so I was certain he'd be excited.  But he woke up cranky ... really cranky.   Scarlett was cranky, too ... she had been trying to get to sleep, with no success.

But I needed my prescription.

I loaded both kids into the car and thankfully, Scarlett fell asleep very quickly (this picture was taken at the store - I was so happy she'd fallen asleep, I had to capture the moment!).  At the store, Christian had perked up, but was getting impatient at waiting in line at the pharmacy.  He wanted to look at toys ... and made sure I knew it ... over and over and over again.  "That's not fair!" he'd proclaim.

I let him look at toys and books and kept telling him that is Scarlett woke up, we'd need to leave.

And of course, she woke up.  I told Christian we needed to leave NOW and he wasn't happy.  He trailed about 15 feet behind me through the entire store, hunched over, whining that he was hungry (he knows there is a Pizza Hut at the front of the store).

But it didn't end there.

We finally got out to the car, and Scarlett was absolutely hysterical.   It was very upsetting to Christian, who was frantically trying to cover his ears, and was pleading with me to help Scarlett.  I told him that as soon as we started driving, she'd calm down.  But a four year old doesn't have that kind of vision.  Christian began to cry.

It was a sort of cry that rarely happens with him.  It was the same cry he had when visiting me at the hospital and was told he was leaving to go home (without me).  It is the kind of cry that makes me want to scoop him up, hold him tight and never, ever let him go.  It is a cry that absolutely breaks my heart.

And through his intense sobs, I heard him say, "It'll be okay, Scarlett."

Awwww ... my little man loves his baby sister so much!  I see it on a day-to-day basis with all the affection he showers onto her.   But the way he reacted to her being so upset showed me that he's developed a bond with his sister.   And while I'm terribly sorry Christian got so upset, I'm just so proud that he's so connected to Scarlett.