An outing

One of my favorite things to do with Lilah now is go shopping. It can be for anything. Groceries. Toilet paper. Milkshake run at Sonic. I love taking Lilah Rose and I love making it an adventure. She's so inquisitive and happy. She drinks in the world around her and I'm just happy to be a part of it.

Today, Lilah and I went to Target and Kroger for everyday things. She was dressed in a pretty 1960s throwback dress. It was yellow with white hems and neck, and had black flowers on it. Her hair was in a ponytail (which isn't just a bean sprout anymore!) and the not-quite-hair-but-longer-than-bangs strands were restrained with a black headband. She had yellow knee socks and looked beautiful as usual. The ride to Target was short. We listened to Colin Meloy Sings Live. I sang along and Lilah tried from the backseat - "Ba pa pa pa!" The songs were punctuated with a British man's voice giving us directions from the GPS on the dash. When we got to Target, I said, "We're here!"
She said, "Get out, Mama?"
"Yes, love. We're getting out." I settled her into the cart and strapped her in. We were barely through the automatic doors before her sneaky little butt had done a 180 in the cart (while still buckled in) so she was on her knees facing the back of the cart. She grabbed my list and pen out of my hand and tossed it on the ground, and started bouncing up and down on her knees and saying "Hi!" to literally every passerby. Most were charmed and said, "Well, hi there! Aren't you beautiful?!" Or something along those lines. She'd say, "Yeah!" and smile to show of her pretty white teeth. Every single person who interacted with her got lost in those wily blue eyes.

We went to the shoe aisle. She needs good shoes to support her almost-walking. She's taking 6-8 steps independently now. I looked at a lot of them and chose three pairs that were cute, comfortable, and functional. I held them up. "Okay. Choices, Lilah. Pick two pairs of shoes please." We've been trying to offer her choices between two things lately to foster a sense of independence and control. We do not want a snotty toddler. I made a mistake by offering her three items to choose from on a trip where she was already feeling sassy and busy. She cocked her head and lifted one pair of black shoes out of the box. I secretly hoped she would change her mind about them. She got a devious smile on her face and tossed them on the ground. "Uh-oh, Mama!" *Giggles*. I sighed and knelt down to pick up the shoes.
"So I'll take that as a..." *Thunk*. A pair of little brown mary janes hit me on the head followed by hysterical laughter from the cart.
"Uh-oh, Mama!" More laughter. We ended up with two pairs of shoes, a bump on my head, a cart full of stuff, and we moved on to Kroger.

We loaded up the cart with fruit and bread, since that's what we came for and I can't seem to keep any of those items in my house. I showed her a pretty cake with a daisy on it. "Bite, Mama?"
"No, love. It isn't your cake."
"...Bite, Mama? Mine?" We moved on to the produce section. I picked a cantaloupe.
"Melon, Lilah. It's tasty." I sat it in her lap. She took a bite of the rind and made a face. I sighed.
"Yuck."
"Yeah, yuck. It's not peeled. We still need berries, grapes, kiwi, and something else." We can't say the word 'banana' around Lilah unless we're prepared to produce one for her consumption instantly. She was busy trying to pry open the carton of strawberries when we passed the banana aisle. I prepared myself for what was ahead. As soon as she spotted them, she started rocking back and forth like a crack addict and reaching for them.
"Nana, Mama! Nana! Nana!"
"Yes, Lilah. You can have one as soon as we get in the car." We went to check out and the lady was nice but a little flustered. Her bagger was late so she was going back and forth between bagging and checking out. I told her I could bag my own. She asked if I was sure. "Yeah, it's not a problem." She looked relieved. Lilah started chatting with her. It was so strange. I watched the stress and worry melt off her face as she continued exchanging words with my daughter. Before we left, she said,
"You're just a little ray of sunshine, you know that? I needed you today. I could use a few more things as good as you to brighten up my days." We thanked her and left.

On the way home I got to thinking about how many grouchy, unhappy-looking people I frequently noticed in the world, and how many happy, smiling people I had encountered today. The world probably wasn't getting more carefree. It was the effect my sweet little baby had on the people she interacted with. Her smile lights up the people she graces with it. Sullen-looking people can be moping about their day, and it all changes when one little girl says, "Hi!" I think that's pretty special.