Wherever Life Takes Me

A while ago my eldest daughter went to grocery store with me. She had a list of things she wanted, and I had mine. She had the cart. Just about the time I would pile my arms high with things to drop in, I'd see her wandering off in the opposite direction and she didn't seem to hear me calling her name. Left stranded three times, I decided on another course of action.

"I'm taking the cart," I informed her, dumping my last pile.

"But I need it for the last thing on my list," she said.

"What is it?"

"Cinnamon," she answered sheepishly.

I gave her the look and showed her my ginormous list.

"Okaaay." She spun on her heels and walked out of the aisle.

"Where are you going?" I asked. She kept walking, still apparently not hearing me. I gathered a few more supplies and followed her. About that time, several feet in front of me, she turned with a dramatic flourish of arms to answer my question. 

In a loud sing-song voice, she said, "Wherever life takes me!" 

The lady behind her looked alarmed and scurried away. My daughter's cheeks turned red with a look of surprise in my direction. She'd wrongly assumed I was the one behind her. I pulled her into the nearest aisle where we laughed quite hard.

"Mom, you're turning blue," she said, with a wane smile. I tried to contain myself.

From that day on, I use her answer whenever she isn't listening. "Going wherever life takes you?" I'll ask.

And she gives me that same wane smile.