Another warm day in Texas

We are so enjoying the weather. I know most people living here must think that we are crazy. We're always outside playing, riding bikes, walking, going to the park, even trying to figure out how to barbeque. All of the locals seem to spend their time hunkered down inside of their houses as they wait out the cold months of February and March.

I mean, the weather is absolutely gorgeous right now. Usually there is a light wind and the sun is out. Average temperature is about 70. Now, to a Portlander like me, it's obviously a GREAT, PHENOMENAL day to go walking. Especially since I have 2 grocery stores within a 1/2mile of my home. I mean, why drive, right? These stores are surrounded by apartments, housing developments and restaurants. There must be at least 20,000 people all within walking distance, it's a college town and it's a beautiful day.

So, I grabbed my over sized, double, jogging stroller that every Portlander has if they have at least one kid, tossed my shopping list, purse and diaper bag into the back, packed up the kids and headed for a light shopping trip. Kate got to man the shopping cart while I pushed the stroller. We bought milk, flour, yeast, sugar, apples, butter, cheese, lettuce, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc...

Now, here is where I had a culture check. Typically, when I walk to a store in Portland with my huge stroller, and I go through the check out line, no one asks me if they can help me out to my car. I mean, why would anyone take a stroller into a grocery store unless they walked, right? Well, the courtesy clerk asked if he could help me with my groceries, and I politely declined. He was rather insistent because he noticed that I was juggling 3 kids, a stroller and a shopping cart. So, I gently explained to him that I had walked, and that the groceries were going into my stroller. It seemed to me that everyone in line, the cashier, the clerk and the lines to the right and left of me all became strangely quiet as they stared at this freakish accident of nature -- a mom with 3 kids was not an anomaly, but WALKING, in THIS weather!