You’ve Got Your Hands Full!

I can’t go anywhere without a stranger informing me that I have got my hands full. But it’s the way they say it that troubles me (yes, I’m very troubled about this!).

I have a four year old, a two and a half year old, and a six month old (I was on the fast baby track, plus you’ve got to strike while the iron is hot!), but it would seem that to others this is completely mad! There are other families with more children, closer aged children, naughtier children, than mine! My children are really well behaved (most of the time), I can take Baby Pink out in the pushchair with Big Blue and Little Blue walking at my side without screaming or pulling my hair out! But since I’ve had Baby Pink strangers have started stating, either informatively, jokingly, or bewilderedly, that I’ve got my “hands full”.

For example:

I pick up Big Blue from nursery and one of the mums looks at us and says “Wow! You’ve got your hands full!” (Yes I have more than one child!)

I receive a grocery delivery, and my two boys start to help me take the items out of the shopping bags, and the delivery man laughs and says “well, it looks like you have your hands full!” (Yes I know, thank you).

An old colleague mentions a mutual acquaintance saw me at the shopping centre but I “looked like I had my hands full” (How rude of me).

One time at the supermarket, an elderly gentleman waited for me to cross the aisle in front of him (bless him), I thanked him and he said “You’ve got your hands full!.. sort of!” Yes! I like to think that he added “sort of” because he decided that actually, I didn’t have too much work on my hands. Or maybe he said it and then realised how annoying it sounded.

I think most people feel sorry for me, and assume that maybe I can’t afford a babysitter, when actually I’m very happy looking after my own children, and I consider myself very fortunate to do so. And maybe I just like to keep busy! So when people tell me I have my hands full, I usually blurt out “YES, I LOVE IT!”, because I do! I have three beautiful, funny, intelligent, barmy little friends and I love keeping my hands full with them.