When I arrived home from my farmer’s market excursion, my son was crying and relieved to see me. I picked him up and he hugged me tightly. Then I asked him why he was so sad because I had never seen him get so upset when he stayed home with daddy. He told me that he was worried about me when I was at the “market,” as he calls it. Throughout the rest of the day he told me over and over again that he was worried about me when I was gone at the “market.” I vowed to take him and his sister with me the next week.
The following week I woke up early to get the kids ready so that we could get to the farmer’s market before they officially opened. After dressing my daughter, I woke up my son to help him get dressed too. He was just grumpy and whiny. I got him a banana and some walnuts so that I could get everything together before we left. It takes considerably more time getting out of the house with two children and I felt like I was running behind schedule. Thankfully, we were able to get the farmer’s market five minutes before it opened and we were able to park where we had all the weeks prior. Once I had both kids in the stroller (something I had not taken to the farmer’s market this summer), we walked the block to the street that the vendors were setting up. My daughter was asleep but my son was curiously watching as the farmers, musicians, etc set up their booths. My sister arrived a few minutes later and we walked and talked while the kids slept or watched. We found our favorite chemical free farmers and bought some vegetables and grains. After a while our daughters awoke from their nap and demanded to get out of the strollers. Luckily, two of our younger sisters arrived and pushed our strollers so we could carry our daughters. My daughter was fascinated with all the sights and sounds and did not want to go back into the stroller. We stopped and paused for a few minutes to get organized and there happened to be some live music on the corner. My son was completely enthralled; he loves watching people play instruments and playing them himself.
It was nice to take the kiddos with me to the farmer’s market so that they could experience some of the things that make it great. They seemed to have fun! I hope that I can still keep my “mommy break” and go by myself next week!