they know how to party

The kids are jaw-droppingly able to have fun anywhere, anyhow, anytime. Case in point: the grocery store yesterday. I mean, woohoo Harris Teeter, right? Um, no. Not usually. Although I have heard that the Harris Teeter can be quite the pick-up spot for singles on Friday nights, I tend to equate grocery shopping with running a gauntlet of Klingons well stocked with those pain stick thingies. No, thank you.

But see, that’s just the wrong state of mind. Sophie and Luc are all about taking the party with them, and Harris Teeter is no exception. From running into the cart area yelling “Rocket Cart!” to the end when they get their balloons, it’s all good. Of course, we tend to get balloons in the beginning, because, hey, why not? And maybe it was these balloons, tied to the sides of the rocket, that gave such a party atmosphere to our shopping trip. Or maybe it was that they had decided tiaras were not optional on this journey for deli chicken, half-n-half, and bananas. Or maybe it was making rocket noises and launch count-downs as we moved through the aisles. I don’t know, but I do know they were having a really good time, grocery store or no.

At one point, after the brain suck of trying to determine the relative benefits of an assortment of cereals, I found them huddled down, singing a little song, talking in little voices…

They were eating gummy bears—yes, I opened the pack in the grocery store, I’m one of those Moms—only they weren’t just eating them, or, not all of them. Apparently, if you lick the bottom of a bear, it will stick rather nicely to your skin, and they were setting them up in a gummy bear party configurations on their thighs, giving each little bear a different voice, and having a jolly (jelly?) good time.

“I see,” I said. “Cool. But don’t stick them to the cart, okay?”

“Why?”

“Because I’ll throw up if I think of you eating all those germs. Not to mention it makes the seat sticky for the next kid.” As if that seat isn’t already a cesspool of stick. But still.

“Oh. Okay.” Luc offers his thigh. “You want one?”

“Thank you, sweetheart. But, um, that would be a no.”

Have you seen those gigantic rocket carts? They’re super-long, like parade floats. Imagine the kids, with their balloons, tiaras, and gummy bear attendants—it was a total Have Party Will Travel situation. What an amazing skill! Did I ever have that skill? I want that skill! I mean, wearing a tiara to the grocery store would never occur to me, and I was dubious when Luc (yes, Luc) suggested it. But he was totally right. It WAS fun. How did he know? I bow before my masters. May I learn to party one tenth as well as they can.

When we got home the kids ran off to do the next thing. The gummy bears organized a civil war reenactment. The kids thought this was hilarious. And then they ate them.