Everyone knows that there are a number of parenting duties that are mommy specific. For us, it is the purchasing of baby food and the planning of meals that seems to be a “mommy only” task. Somehow, I was deemed the resident “Payne Household Nutritionist” and all decisions about food have seemingly fallen to me.
Because of my new role, I have found myself at the grocery store more frequently than I ever imagined. Weekly shopping is usually done on Sunday afternoons, but it seems to never fail that I find myself “running to pick something up” two and three times a week.
During my increasingly frequent trips to the grocery, I have had some interesting encounters on the baby food aisle. I have received advice to “enjoy the good times and to cherish my youth and health” from a woman purchasing baby food for her husband suffering from throat cancer. I have attempted to comfort a very young teen mother struggling to purchase baby food for the first time. And, I have given my opinion on the best veggie, fruit and puff on the shelf. My interactions have all been with other women, who seem to also have the weight and responsibility of feeding their family placed upon their shoulders.
Surprisingly, the baby food aisle has taught me a lot about motherhood. It is taught me that we are all in the same boat… just doing the best we can. We love our families, feel so much pressure to get things right (even down to the smallest detail), and don’t mind one bit that everyone is counting on us.
As I prepare for Ford’s first birthday, I know that my trips down the baby food aisle are numbered. Pretty soon, he and I will be arguing on the junk food aisle about what is the best nutritional choice rather than my current one sided decisions over mashed pears vs. prunes. Despite my baby growing up (and getting a mouth full of teeth), I will probably still take an occasional trip down the baby food aisle when I need to be reminded of the amazing responsibility that motherhood had given me.
