Heaven in Walmart

For Mother's Day I asked for one day where my husband would watch all the kids so I could go do whatever I wanted to do for just a few hours completely kid free.

That day was today. Happy Mother's Day to me! (Again!)

I didn't want to have my "day" on the actual Day of Mothers last Sunday because of honoring all the other mothers in our life and such so I picked a day smack dab in the middle of the week. That way I didn't have to fight traffic, fight shoppers, fight weekenders, fight anyone for happy time alone.

Does that sound horrible that I wanted to have time alone away from the kid's for my Mother's Day gift? I think it might.

But all day, every day (and through the night for that matter) I'm with the kids. If I run out to go grocery shopping or to the post office, at least one kidlet is with me. So that's why I asked for just a couple hours to do whatever I wanted.

Stop 1: McDonald's for their seductive mocha frappe crack I can't seem to get enough of. And I can't figure out why for the life of me does having a sweet coffee concoction settled in my hand during my outing makes it that much better.

Stop 2: Pedicure. This is in a nail shop in a Walmart. The couple that manages this shop manages another shop I used to frequent several times a month when I was out in the work force years ago and could afford to care about such indulgences. They did my nails and massaged my toes for my wedding day and baby showers. So I walk in and they know me but not well enough to tell them Christian is anything other than okay.

Let me just share something, the massage chairs in this little nail shop in Walmart are THE BEST massage chairs I've ever experienced. No annoying vibration masquerading as massage. Honestly, the pedicure is secondary compared to these massage chairs. Heaven, I tell you.

Happily, I got one of the most delicious pedicures I've ever had in my life! I didn't know a little piece of utopia existed in a small space of Super Walmart, but I'm happy I found it.

Stop 3: Hair. I got a hair trim. Nothing fancy. But I got to look through thick fashion magazines with ridiculous outfits and perfume samples. I smelled all the perfumes and read some of the articles amused by what I used to care about. I read silly questions like, "What makes you feel beautiful?" to celebrities more than willing to share.

Then I started to think about it. "What makes me feel beautiful?" I dunno. Makeup? That's not very deep. A few beers? Not sure that's what the article meant. What kind of question is that anyway? If you have a good answer, let me know. I digress.

See, the above thoughts were things I got to think about uninterrupted. I talked about silly stuff and read trashy, unimportant magazines. It was great. I smelled mall smells like food courts, expensive cologne, and new clothes. I listened to girls gossip and talked to the hair stylist about boyfriends and husbands. I talked to the pedicurist about the perfect pink. All mundane, but all absolutely necessary for my few hours of relaxation, free of troubles and real life conundrums.

I felt a spring in my step and renewal that this must be what getting back to normal feels like. Then I got in the minivan and drove away.

Truth be told, I missed my babies and wondered why my husband wasn't frantically calling me to tell me to hurry home because Lola wouldn't stop crying. But they got along just fine without me. Amazing what a few hours can do.