His First Good Idea

I am going to come right out and say it. My husband is a genius. You heard me, an absolute genius. Due to his brilliant suggestion, I am happily typing away at my computer and not sitting in jail for attempted homicide. Give that man a gold star.

Let me back up just a few hours. Our cupboard was bare. My family was starting to notice the lack of food in the house, and the noises issuing from our bellies were starting to interfere with our conversations. But it's a mini-week. Due to parent-teacher conferences, the kids only go to school a mere three hours a day. You may be familiar with my loathing of the grocery store and what happened the last time I took all three kids with me. It was not a pretty picture. I was trying to hold off until the weekend, but our recent diet of ice chips and bread crumbs swept up from the pantry floor was causing a mutiny.

We woke up this morning, and the first thing out of David's mouth was, "One of us needs to go to the store." That meant me since he hasn't stepped foot in a grocery store since 1975. I heaved a sigh, said no, and bleakly thought that if I had already had my caffeine I would have the energy to slug him. I had to use my few, precious kid-free hours to get a project in, and there was no way I was taking all three kids to the grocery store. I did not feel my fragile mental state could withstand a trip with kids whining, poking each other, and knowing that, "Fred, clean up in aisle three," was our fault.

But David said we couldn't wait until the weekend and told me to split the grocery list into three parts and have the kids shop for me. Make it a scavenger hunt. I opened my mouth to scoff at what a ridiculous idea that was . . . but wait. Why not do that? What an amazing idea! It was simple, elegant, and so obvious I don't know why I hadn't thought of it before.

So that's what I did. The kids had a blast while I sat quietly and enjoyed a coffee. I even got to take credit for David's idea when the produce guy said my kids were great, and I was like Super Nanny with my well-behaved kids and terrific ideas. The kids were thrilled. The store was thrilled. And I wasn't taken away in handcuffs.

I'll say it again. You're a genius, David. And I believe this totally erases that mistake you made way back when. You know the one I mean. But only that one, not the others.