Next time you are out look around and find a mom with young children.  How much stuff is she carrying?  Does she seem to resemble a pack mule?  It seems every mom I know is loaded down with more stuff than a Sherpa on an Everest expedition.  In my purse and diaper bag along are more than 50 items.  Scary as that number sounds, that only covers the bare “necessities” of a modern mom.  A TSA search would reveal some scary items, but nothing dangerous.  I am at the readywith diapers, wipes, sippy cups, kid-friendly snacks (often crushed beyond edible), crayons (possibly melted), paper, children’s books (usually with torn pages), and so much more.  When I get lucky, I even remember to bring along my wallet and car keys.

Carrying all this stuff has made leaving the house a major logistical undertaking.  After loading the kids and all of our paraphernalia (theirs and mine) packing to go to the grocery store looks like I am packing to move another state.  After years of this arduous process, I have grown to hate making even a single extra trip out to the car.  As a result, I am always carrying more than I safely should.  My husband was convinced most bags carried in a single trip was my ticket into the Guinness Book of World Records, until I told him my gift for carrying stuff was shared with every other mom in the universe.  

I have learned that a strained back is not the only causality of the pack mule mom.  Time is the other.  If I need to leave the house at the top of the hour, I plan to leave at a quarter till.  That way I have 15 extra minutes.  Adhering strictly to this policy during my entire parenting career, I have yet to arrive anywhere early.  Inevitably the delays getting out of the house eclipse my 15-minute cushion.  On good days, I arrive on time.  On all the rest, let’s just agree I won’t get straight A’s in punctuality.  

Although being a pack mule mom is not my favorite part of the mom job, it has its advantages.  If I pack up everything but the kitchen sink, then I am always prepared.  That is until I’m not.  No matter how much I pack up, sometimes I just don’t have the right gear.  I have forgotten to bring the socks to the play place and the water bottle to the playground.  I have forgotten to bring the life vest to the pool and the helmet for the bike ride.  But nothing is worse than forgetting to bring the blanket to the day care.  Everything else is recoverable, but forgetting that blanket means a trip back to the house and 20-minute delay on the start of the day.  In life, we all need one thing that is more important than time. Around our house, it is the blanket.  

I figure I have another couple of years of the pack mule mom stage.  After that, my girls will be able to carry all of their own stuff.  Then, I will pass my pack mule baton onto another mom with kids younger than mine.  Until then I offer this little piece of advice.  The next time you are headed out of a store, please hold the door for the mom right behind who is loaded down with more stuff than humanly possible.  I promise she will appreciate it.  Of course, if you are reading this, you are probably a mom who is carrying your own pack mule load.  In that case, just let the door slam. The mom behind you will understand.  

Gigi appears every Friday on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Gigi at her blog Stroller Lane.