The hardest part of grocery shopping, I’ve found, is getting all the groceries inside and put away.

First challenge: Getting them all from the car to the house. What to do with the child? I used to bring her inside and put her down, then go get the groceries. That stopped working when she started crying and banging on the front door when I stepped out. Also, leaving her unattended can have bad consequences. My current solution is to leave her in her car seat. Windows open, back of the truck open, and every time I grab more grocery bags I make faces at her and say, “Be right back!” Thankfully she is okay with this.

Second challenge: Putting them all away. Normally it seems that grocery shopping always ends right when Kate is getting tired so I bring her in and put her to bed, leaving the groceries sitting out and hoping that she falls asleep quickly. Today, however, she was wide awake and chipper so she got to help me put them all away.

First she squatted by the bags of groceries and started removing items one by one. Once in a while an item would especially delight her and she would proudly walk around the kitchen holding it aloft. Today it was the new toothbrush I bought for her. I had to take it out of its package for her to chew on, and she was so happy!

But soon she moved on to dragging bags of groceries around, leaving a breadcrumb-like trail of boxes and bags all about the kitchen. She abandoned the bag on the far side of the kitchen. Next thing I know she has quietly snuck up behind me and is removing things from the fridge door and chucking them on the floor. She tried grabbing for the produce on the bottom shelf and I jumped to intercept her, as I have learned in the past she is surprisingly quick at pulling everything out in one or two sweeps.

Finally I get all the refrigerated items put away, remove the child from the fridge, and shut the door with a sigh of relief. Next is the tricky business of shoving things in the freezer. I hate our freezer, and I tell it that every time I have to use it. There is only a small shelf for ice cubes, the entire rest of the space is one large cavern of frozen bags and boxes that tumble out if you disturb the delicate balance. Some days, I admit, I shove hard and shut the door really quickly. While I’m trying to fit all the new items and get it all to stay put Kate is picking up the items I had removed from the fridge to throw away. I glance over. Is it dangerous? Is it likely to break open and create a giant mess? The answer is no, so I leave her be. I’ll collect them later.

Then I have to take out the trash. It doesn’t all fit, of course, since the trash was full before I pulled a bunch of things from the fridge. Kate tries throwing her new toothbrush in the disgusting trash while I’m grabbing a new bag. I try to tell her NO that is YUCKY without scaring her and making her cry (it’s a thin line). Luckily it seems to have worked and she leaves it alone. I take the trash outside while two cats plot to escape out the door (assholes) and Kate cries at the door. As I’m returning she’s banging on the door with my keys that she found.

Kate is once again in a good mood soon as I’m inside so I take the opportunity to wash some dishes, though first I have to put away all the dry ones. I don’t quite finish washing dishes when she has had enough and starts crying and tugging at my pant leg. The counters are still a mess too, but they’ll have to wait for later.

Remind me of all of this when Kate is a teenager refusing to help with the groceries and I have to do it all by myself.