Getting ready to go away for a few days was always hectic, but this last time was a doozie.
We'd packed the car with everything we would need to take a family of five humans and two dogs on a few days away from the homestead. We'd harvested everything that would ripen soon, watered the garden, changed the message on our answering machine, set the timers on the lights, emptied the fridge of stuff that would go bad, taken out the garbage, walked the dogs, given keys to the neighbors, set up the chickens and the cats with food and water, packed road food, road devices, and road pillows. Three bikes were loaded on the bike rack, and a canoe was on the top of the car.
"I'm not going" the eldest said.
"Me neither" the middle child said.
The baby in her carrier sucked her thumb.
My husband picked up the eldest, I picked up the middle child, and the little one sucked.
As we were shoving our two uncooperative and flailing children into the car, a passing car stopped.
"What are you doing with those children?! Are they even yours? I'm calling the cops."
What could we do? With two of them buckled in, my husband and I sat down on the curb with the baby and waited.
One cop showed up. He asked the eldest "Are these your parents?" Our eldest said nothing. He asked the middle child "Are these your parents?" She glared at him, no response.
I started to laugh. My husband glared at me. The officer didn't know what to do.
But I did.
Out came my left breast.
I nursed the baby, the cop left, and we got underway with a car full of subdued kids.
This is my entry for @mariannewest daily freewrite challenge. Today's prompt is hectic. I wrote for longer than five minutes, more like ten. It is loosely based on a real life event of mine. I was trying to get my five year old, who had gotten on his bike to run away from home, into my car. A passing car stopped, ordered me to stay where I was, and called the police. My kids would not speak to the officer, not one peep. Eventually he figured out they were mine and let us go.
Come write with @freewriters!