Cartwheels in the Parking Lot

A comment by a reader of Blogging for Bitter Women  made me remember the day I wanted to do cartwheels in the parking lot. The reader (another Linda!) commented that if she had superpowers one of them would be to cartwheel down the street. I’m with her. In fact there was one day when that is exactly what I wanted to do!

My daughter’s first day of nursery school. My son was safely tucked away in first grade which meant, after I dropped my daughter off at nursery school, I had three whole hours to myself. I had to get something at K-Mart. I don’t remember what because I didn’t buy a thing that day. When I stepped out of my car, I suddenly realized that for the first time in six years I had no car seat to unbuckle and no sweaty little palm clinging to mine… or more to the point, no reason for my sweaty big palm to latch on to a sweaty little one.

There was more than spring to my step. I could actually visualize myself doing cartwheels in the parking lot, but I didn’t. I was worried that my post-partem physique would land flat on its face if I tried. So instead I went into K-Mart and browsed. I spent an hour looking at the latest magazines and best sellers. Then, with no little-bull-in-a-china-shop in tow, I headed over to the gift section and delighted myself with the intricacies of K-Mart knick-knacks for another hour. Next I went over and looked at clothes for me. However, time ran short. Nursery school was soon over for the day and I had to pick up my daughter and be a mom again.

These days I look back on that day and the memory still refreshes me. Yet, sometimes I do miss those sweaty little palms.