Eggsactly

I ran to the grocery store today while Aliza was napping. Usually when I go to the grocery store I have a list. I have a list and very specific meals in mind and I buy just what I need and then I leave. Well, I'm on summer vacation still so there was no list. Which meant I was dashing through the store, trying to hurry home before Aliza woke up, and grabbing everything I could remember. Including the random things that I knew we needed. Like toothpaste (which I remembered). And butter (also remembered). And Bisquick (also remembered....and as an aside, there is a recipe on the back of the Bisquick box for chicken fingers. If you are so inclined you should try them, Aliza loves them. Come to think of it, so does Russ). And bleach (which I forgot....ah well...).
So I was rushing.
Then I picked a checkout where there was a bagger, but, of course, as soon as I get there, the bagger leaves. The check out girl was nice. And chatty. And I chatted and bagged and looked at the clock wondering if Aliza was awake or not.....
And I rushed out the door.
Once I got to my car I realized something.
The eggs.
The eggs were sitting on the top part of the cart. The part where Aliza normally sits when she comes with me. And on top of the eggs was my purse. Hiding the eggs.
I didn't pay for the eggs.
For half a second, I thought, "I have to get home, Aliza must be awake by now, I didn't tell Russ what to give her for lunch, they are probably both freaking out....it's just eggs, who cares, no one even knows......"
And then I realized- that would be stealing. Eggs or something pricier. Known or not. Still stealing. I've never stolen anything in my whole life and I sure was not about to start now. Not as an (almost) thirty-three year old mother. What kind of example would that be setting for my daughter? OK, OK, she wasn't with me and even if she was, she wouldn't understand but still. Still. When she's older and she asks me "Mom, did you ever steal?" I can tell her this story and end it with a definitive "No, I never did."
So, I parked my carriage and headed back into my local Stop and Shop. Pondering weighty questions, like "Do I go to the same check out and explain the situation? Do I go to a different one? Will the check out girl even care that I came back inside? Who will notice me walking into a store carrying the eggs? Should I have brought my receipt in? If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one to hear it, does it still make a sound? Which came first- the chicken or the egg?"
As I contemplated, I strolled in and saw that the nearest check out- a self-checkout-was completely empty. I brought my eggs over, scanned, bagged, paid and walked out.
No one was the wiser.
But I knew.
I knew that I am not a thief.
And, in this story at least, the eggs came first.