As we were walking into Publix the other day, I realized that we’d forgotten our grocery bags. Publix encourages people to bring their own cloth grocery bags to cut down on the use of plastic.

“Hey,” I said. “I’m gonna run back and get the grocery bags.”

“I’ll come with you!” my youngest son said.

My wife was fine with that plan. She told us where she’d be, then continued into the supermarket.

My son and I ran to the car, then found ourselves facing a dilemma.

“How many bags do you think we need?” I asked him.

“Um, I don’t know.” He glanced back to the store. “What’s Mom buying?”

“I don’t know, but I think this was just a quick stop. Let’s grab one big one.”

“Okay!”

He grabbed the bag and ran back into the store.

“Um,” I said, pausing. “Where did she say she was going to be?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Let’s try this way.”

After an extended search, we found her in the produce aisle. Her shopping cart was already half full. My son looked at it meaningfully, then looked at me, then at the bag.

“Yeah, yeah,”  I said. “We need more.”

My wife laughed and told us where she’d be next.

We ran back to the car, grabbed four more bags, and ran back inside.

“Where did she say she was going to be?” I asked.

He laughed. “You know,” he said. “One of us is going to have to start listening to Mom.”

True.