The thing about having kids

My babies have brought so much to my life. I have learned to change a squirmy babies diaper with one hand while playing barbies with the other. I have rediscovered my love of the Smurfs and found myself getting VERY into new cartoons, like Jack's Big Music Show. They have shown me how much I can love and care about a life that is not my own. And they gave me an excuse to have random, personal conversations with strangers at the store.

Yesterday I was at Once Upon A Child buying a used V-Smile game for Natalie (at $20 a piece new we will look for used ones thank you very much). They have a small area for kids to play while parents shopped and since I was doing Christmas shopping that I didn't want Nat to see I let her go play. There were two little boys already playing. They all had such a good time and were so nice to each other. When I had paid I went over to collect Natalie. At the same time the little boys mom was ready to go. The kids were having such great conversations that I didn't want to yank Nat away, and I think the other mom felt the same way...so we started talking. I had known this woman for a total of 10 minutes (and never even got her name ), but I did learn these things...
*she is having her third child, a girl named Genevieve
*her husbands eyes are very similar to the color of mine
*her first born is very laid back and easy going while her second is demanding and bossy
*she is glad she is having a girl because it is her last, which leads to.....
*she is making her husband get "fixed" very soon

I don't know that much about some people I have known for years! It was nice and very odd at the same time to stand there and talk to this stranger while our kids talked about the virtues of Chucky Cheese. I am nice to people at the store and I do tend to talk to cashiers more than the average person (that comes from working at Dillons in college and knowing how boring it is and also from my mom who will tell the person checking us out our entire life stories and why exactly we are buying the things we are. Off topic a bit, my wonderful mother once asked me while we were in line at Dillons if I had to "potty" because I shivered. I was, like, 15-years-old! Embarrassing!) So, finally we all had to leave. We said goodbye and it was nice meeting each other. How weird to talk like that and then know we will probably never see each other again!

So now, because of my kids, I have something in common with millions of women. It doesn't matter their skin color, or their age, or their income. It doesn't matter if they are married or single, gay or straight. All that matters is that we are all mothers and that, in itself, is truly something to talk about.