This week at the commissary, I decided to let Lucy walk alongside me, instead of riding in the cart. Anyone who has shopped in an enormous commissary 2 weeks before Christmas, and has dealt with a 5 year old with Down syndrome, knows how remarkable that sentence is! It wasn't temporary insanity that prompted me, but, now that Lucy weighs in close to 43 pounds, it is getting harder and harder to lift her high enough to get those long legs into the cart seat! I decided to give her a chance and expected it to be a short-lived experiment, but surprisingly she did quite well. But that wasn't the only surprise the shopping trip delivered...
Lucy helped me push and for the most part stayed right beside the cart. At one point I left her squatted next to the cart, looking at the raisin boxes, while I got the flour 10 feet away. As I returned, I saw Lucy lifting a large carton of prunes from the bottom shelf and handing it up to an elderly woman, who was saying, "Why, thank you for helping me! You are a sweet little girl to help an old lady!" Apparently the older lady had asked Lucy for the prunes and Lucy both understood and cooperated! May God be praised!
