Amidst the naughty Jack's and Jill's of the world, lay a few sparkling diamonds in the rough of rudeness. If you missed the last blaaag--Jacks' and Jills' are those folks completely oblivious to social etiquette and courtesy (although we will forgive them, because that's what nice and healthy people do).
When you have infant twins and a toddler, or any combination of more than one child, asking for help is not something to consider--like, should I purchase those snowmen socks; asking for help is a necessity; yes, purchase those white ankle socks instead. I have learned this on more levels than a Mario Brother's video game (sorry, I'm from the old school Nintendo days). I recently however, experienced a whole new level of beseeching help from persons of the world at my local Sam's Club.
I had just picked up my almost three-year-old from preschool with a hopeful plan of running by Sam's Club on the way home. A tired toddler and two adorable, but precocious twins close to nap time--this could get scary. So I did what any savvy mother does: baited toddler with soft pretzel from Sam's food counter and milk and "puffy snacks" for babies. Once safely transported from minivan to lovely big-twin-toddler-perfect-sized-cart, I held my breath and prayed for limited meltdowns (praying for no meltdowns is unrealistic).
To my surprise, all was going quite well once in the club. Twins were happily cooing in their double, front compartment of the cart, toddler happily munching on pretzel--wait--uh-oh, toddler is wiggling--toddler is wiggling uncontrollably. "Laura sweetie," I ask in fear of answer, "Do you have to go potty?" "Noooooo," she growls, meanwhile giving the Wiggles a run for their money. Ugggg, I think looking at my present condition. Two babies not able to walk yet, and a toddler well potty trained, but not quite a pro without assistance in public potties. This is where mom must take a deep breath and ask for help.
I quickly grabbed my wholesale club necessities: diapers, toilet paper and paper towels (what else?) I raced to the checkout with the speed of a contestant on one of those grocery shopping game shows. Of course at the noon hour, Sam's was hoppin'--but I didn't care this time. More people = more register help=more help for mommy. That is the moment I spotted Rachel; a cute young supervisor with her hair pulled back. "Excuse me, Rachel?" I ventured, "My daughter needs to use the restroom, but isn't old enough to go by herself, and this cart won't fit in the bathroom, could you just watch my twins right out side the door for a minute?" "Sure!" Rachel replied without skipping a beat. Now you might ask me at this moment if I was scared of Rachel wheeling my twins out the front door and selling them on the black market. Not really. The door of the bathroom was open for cleaning, and since the store was busy, I had plenty of witnesses if Rachel made a run for it.
The point is, I could have fretted about how I would logically unload all girls from the cart, get them into the bathroom, and help Laura with the potty process without dropping babies on their heads...or I could take a chance on Rachel. Asking for help turned out to be the best avenue here. Laura and I were in-and-out of the bathroom in about two minutes. The twins were giggling and playing, Rachel steadfast holding the cart in front of them. "Thank you Rachel," I said. "I know it's not technically in your job description to watch children, but you sure helped this mom out," I added. "No problem," she replied, "I consider it part of customer service."
Just remember...for as many weasels we mommas encounter out there in the real world--those shifty Jack and Jill types, we'll find a few Rachel's to help us along the way. We just have to reach out a little bit. I intend to send Sam's a shout out on Rachel's above and beyond customer service, although this happened going on two weeks ago. Eeesh, guess my next blaaag will be about procrastination.
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