The puddle may have evolved into a pond today. Either that, or I forgot this morning to switch out the sponge that I have started using to keep the flood waters at bay (which is also entirely possible given my mushy brain these days). All I know is that I wasn’t anywhere near the usual dribble area and yet my feet still got a soaker. And since our new water softener does not arrive until next Monday, until then I shall have to admit defeat. Or scrounge up a larger sponge to handle the increased leakage. I’m already switching it out twice a day.

Today seems to be my day of defeat. I also had to admit defeat at the food store (a.k.a the grocery store) tonight.

I dislike shopping carts. I used to hate them completely, but realized that they do come in handy when you need to pick up one of those water jugs that weigh 40-someodd pounds. But outside of these extreme situations, I avoid shopping carts like the plague and only use handbaskets*. Which is why Charles had to start going food shopping with me (to prevent me from lugging around 40-someodd pounds of random items. I’ve been known to stick a case of pop under each arm and still carry a full handbasket of items. Yes, I’m stubborn). But tonight, I only had to pick up a few small items for a potluck tomorrow, so I stopped at the food store after work and confidently grabbed a handbasket.

Which turned into a bit of a mistake. True, I ended up picking up a few things on top of the items that I needed for the potluck. But they were things like bread. And broccoli. Things that weigh next to nothing. And yet as I walked towards the cash with my not even full handbasket, I felt as if I had two cases of pop and an overflowing handbasket. It felt …. kind of heavy. And it kind of stretched my (pregnant) belly a bit. And that is not a pleasant feeling. I don’t know if I have just grown weak with my forced dependance on shopping carts, or if perhaps the random items did add up to more than the sum of their parts. But whatever the case, it is with great sorrow that I have come to the conclusion that I can (should) no longer use handbaskets (at least for the next four months).

Clearly I must just carry things in my arms.

And if there are too many things to carry in my arms, I will … use … a shopping cart. There. I said it.

* I will use those little wheely “hand” baskets if available – same maneuverability as the handbaskets, but able to hold heavier things!