Simple errands: not so simple

As those of you with small children can understand, whenever you go run errands, they have to be done relatively quickly lest the child run out of patience and has a complete melt down. Obviously, there are times when this can't be avoided (i.e. the post office, dmv, pretty much any government agency) but for the most part, I do everything in my power to avoid the dreaded "man that lady has a crazy kid" stares from the people around me. I just don't want to be THAT mom. Ever.

Today, Weston and I had to go into the bank because we were having some issues with an account. We were hoping that it would be a quick fix and we could be in and out in a couple minutes. Nope.

When we first arrived at the bank, Jackson was being pretty mellow. He was letting me hold him (something that rarely happens anymore) and just hanging out. We went up and talked to a taller about our issue and she told us we needed to speak with a banker. Ok we can do that. We only had to wait a few minutes for the banker, during which time Jackson decided he did not want to be held anymore. The banker took us back to her cubicle and we sat and tried to talk to her while Jackson squirmed and whined to get out of my lap. Luckily, I had fruit snacks in my bag so I whipped those suckers out and started shoving them in his mouth to placate him. When it became evident that our issue wasn't going to be resolved the way we wanted it to we told the banker we may have to close our account. Well, that just wasn't going to happen. She was going to keep us at that bank if it killed her. She asked us question after question during which time Jackson had finished his fruit snacks and was practically hanging upside down out of my arms trying to reach the floor. I tried to distract him with things I normally don't let him play with, but it just wasn't working. When this kid gets his mind on something, nothing can deter him. He just wanted to get down!

I'm almost positive that Jackson's squirming, whining, and hollering didn't go unnoticed by the banker. Still, she was bound and determined to keep our account. She told us that she was going to go check on a couple things and left to the back room. At this point, I gave in and let Jackson down, and he shot off like a rocket, zooming from one end of the bank to the other. We had already been there for about twenty five minutes (which doesn't sound very long, but to a one-year-old it's an eternity) so, at this point, I really couldn't care less about what the other people in the bank thought about me or my insane child. I just let him run.  Ten minutes later, banker lady was now out of the back room and yapping with a co worker about who knows what. Hey lady! Do you see my child running a muck in your bank? Can you just go ahead and close our account, give my husband his id back, and let us leave? I mean really, people need to be a little bit more observant and considerate. Clearly, I needed to take my child and leave, not be held hostage in a bank by some crazy banker who, obviously, gets some benefits from us staying at her bank.

Long story short, issue got resolved, Jackson did not destroy the bank, and when we left, my stress level was only slightly above breaking point. No harm done--except for a slight hatred of that banker and a couple years shaved off my life. All in a day's work.