Death rewrote the script

Usually by Thursday at 10 my weekly chores are completed and I'm well on my way to running errands.

Target, Costco, Nordstrom Rack and the mall...oh yea, and the grocery store too. Gotta remember to feed the locust! 

Many years ago our local mall had this yummy little restaurant called Muffin Break. We often would go there for a quick muffin and coffee before we started our errands.  

This had been my routine for about 10 years. Carbs and coffee...

Often my mom would meet me for these fun shopping days. 
Over the years we would have from 1-3 kiddos joining us, sometimes slowing us down and sometimes adding fun new things to my cart.
Grandma loved to instigate the random new toys that would mysteriously appear from under our pile of weekly needs.

Those were some of my favorite days. Fond memories learning about life from this experienced, wise woman while sipping and snacking.

My purpose in life at that season was to raise up these children and be a wife to the love of my life.

With my mom as my leader, mentor and best friend, she was readily available to guide and support me in the daily antics of getting my little family from point A to point B. 

As my kids grew however, my purpose grew too. 

Seasons changed, roles reversed. Embracing and rejecting this change simultaneously.

I was now taking my elderly parents to Target and Costco along with the many doctor appointments too. 
We enjoyed seeing the other mothers and daughters with their grand-babies doing as we did once.

My purchases went from buying diapers to Depends, from toothpaste to denture paste, from chewable vitamins to many prescriptions.

I loved this job, but knew it would be short lived.

Sometimes though, I would envy the middle aged mom who could zip in and out of the store without strollers or wheelchairs.

Seasons changed again and I was now an orphan. 
The middle aged mom without anything holding me back.  

I had to admit, I selfishly felt an odd sense of freedom running for a quick item one day, no wheelchairs or strollers. 
(The strollers are a distant memory. The wheelchair was sometimes one of those motorized carts, that part was super fun!)

Often looking for the silver lining and decidedly embracing that middle aged mom I now am, I could dash in and out with nothing to slow me down.

As I entered the store though, time stood still, as if in slow motion. 

Around nearly every corner I was met with older women with their daughters and her small children. They were shopping, laughing or lunching and looked as if they loved every minute of it. Just as I once did with my mom.

Quietly my heart ached and my eyes stung as I remembered those precious days.

Around another corner I caught sight of a sweet elderly couple being assisted by their daughter I assumed . 

I remembered those days and wished for a moment to go back in time.

I moved on, found my items and went to my car. I never wanted or chose for any of my jobs to end, but they did. 

Children grow up and parents die.

God is preparing me for a new purpose that is yet to come. When I get to become the older mom with one of my daughters and her babies, running errands on Thursdays. 
Laughing, lunching and becoming her mentor, leader and friend.