Despite that it is now November and the title of this post contains the word "Shopping", I promise that this post is not about holiday shopping.

Today, after school, we stopped at the grocery store on the way home to pick up a few things. It is tradition to let Meghan pick out the shopping cart that we will use. She is a big fan of the rocket ship cart and they always have several ready for her use. But today she decided to go for a different selection. The cart with the bench for two attached. Now, I don't know if you are familiar with these carts, but they are clearly meant for families with two kids. Unlike the race car and rocket ship, the bench cart has a full size cart attached. This cart is meant for serious shopping...and for two kids.

I am that person who won't sit in the wheelchair section of the movie theater, no matter how crowded, because what if the next family to come in needs that space? They shouldn't have to ask me to move.

I am that person who won't park in the handicap space with my mother. I'd rather drop her off at the door and park on the far side of the lot than park there. All because I can still walk and what if the next car to pull into that lot needs that same space?

So here I am in the grocery store with my daughter asking to use the cart for two kids. I'm picturing a mom who is tired, overwhelmed, and has just had a bad day. She doesn't want to stop at the store, but she has to...with both kids (or more) in tow. All she needs to do is grab one of those carts, buckle her kids in and get the job done. But there isn't a cart for two kids, so she's fighting her way through the store with a baby on her hip and a toddler running the store to grab his favorite treats or anything that catches his attention. I don't want her to have that extra stress because I, with my one child in tow, decided to take the cart for two when I only needed a cart for one.

ONE.

Not two kids. Just one.

And my daughter wants to know why we can't use the cart for two. As I begin to explain to her that these carts are made for families with two kids, my heart seizes.

We are not a family with two kids.

We used to be a family with two kids. But now there is just one.

My heart holds two children, but my cart can only hold one.