One Small Step for Marissa...One GIANT Step for Mommy

A couple of weeks ago Marissa learned how to buckle herself into her booster seat.

Any parent will tell you -- this is a big milestone.

Perhaps not for the child. Probably the child has been buckling various things for a year or more by now -- a belt, a strap on a doll stroller, a shoe, whatever.

This is a huge milestone for parents.

This is up there with potty training in my book. I am serious.

For 7 years now I have been strapping at least one but most often two children into carseats and/or boosters. This entails bending your body 90 degrees at the waist with minimal support, wrenching your arm around a bulky carseat/booster seat, and trying to fit a buckle which seems to shrink in your hand into an invisible latch that you cannot see (per bulky carseat/booster seat noted previously). It's like trying to thread a needle without looking at either item, and while just lying the needle on the table and poking the thread at it. See how well that works for ya.

The other part of strapping my kids in carseats that I won't miss: the ever so lovely rear view that my fellow parents at daycare get to see. I am embarrassed to say that there are a few parents that I recognize by seeing their rear ends poking out of the backdoor of their car as they strap their kids in. And I am even more embarrassed to say that they probably recognize me the same way. We should just walk into parent meet-and-greets bent over, butt first. We'd all know who the other parents were if only we could look up to see.

That part is always made all the more fun by children who take their time getting into their carseats, insistent on telling you about their day, showing you their art project, making sure they have their blankies...all while you stand out the open rear door in the pouring rain, wishing you could just get in the damn car yourself. Don't bother carrying an umbrella -- ever try doing that needle and thread thing with just one arm, while holding the other arm as far above your head as possible, while bent over at a 90-degree angle? My chiropractor is smiling at the vision: hmmm....that'll be three visits a week for at least four weeks, cha-ching...

Now that Marissa has mastered the buckle, here's how we get into the car when we all have to go somewhere.

1. We all open our own doors.

2. We all close our own doors.
3. We all buckle ourselves in.
4. We get ready to ride.

Sweet.