tears at walmart

Today I once again attempted the great feat of going to town for groceries with 3 kids. Usually it goes fairly well if I leave early enough and am done by nap time. But I am usually completely worn out by the time I'm done. Today I decided to be brave and do Aldi and the Dollar Tree first because I didn't need that much at Walmart, just a few things for Mary's birthday party. Needless to say, by the time I got into Walmart my energy level was swiftly falling. Lugging a 22 lb (+ infant seat) baby and herding 2 toddlers will do that to you. After about an hour of meandering around Walmart and eating at the Subway in there M and W announced that they needed to go to the bathroom. Oh no. This is something I try to avoid at all costs. It is impossible to keep track of a fully loaded (and paid for) cart and three kids in a germ infested bathroom. Something was going to have to be left behind and it wasn't going to be a child. Why would anyone take my cart anyway? Isn't it obvious that I am in the bathroom and will be right back? I did have the sense to take my purse along in so M could sit on it and hold H while I help W pee. After a lot of "don't touch the wall", "get off the floor", "don't let H crawl on the floor", "hurry" and 4 handwashes, we finally emerged. My mouth dropped open and I stared at .... nothing. No cart. Left, right, and left again. No cart. I wanted to sit down right there and cry. But where does that get you? All my hard worked for groceries, all our coats (and it is cold today), and all my energy. I quick ran to the customer service and asked if anyone had brought it in there. No. Even my car keys are in there. And I have no cell phone. It felt like a cold world indeed. I did a few circles and then headed for the door thinking I might still be able to catch the thief. And then I saw it. Just around the corner in the eye department it stood. And with it was Virgil, the big thief. Now there was no stopping the tears. Seeing him was like the answer to all my trouble but at the same time I realized he was also the source of all my trouble. Talk about a serious mixture of giggles and tears and anger and relief. Oh well. That one turned out ok so I guess I'll still risk letting my cart outside the bathroom. Maybe next time I'll at least take my keys with me.