Karyn and Joan finished loading the dishwasher while Jon snoozed in his little basket that Joan had placed on the kitchen table so she could keep an eye on him.
"Ok, we're just about ready to go to the mall." Joan declared. "If you'll watch Jon, I'll get the rest of his stuff."
"What stuff?" Karyn asked. "He's just a baby, how much stuff does he need?"
"You really are new at this." Joan stated. "Watch and learn from the master."
Joan left only to return in a moment with a car seat. Then she left again and came back with a stroller. Then she left and returned with a gigantic diaper bag.
"Let me make one more check of the nursery to see if I forgot anything, then we're foot loose and fancy free." Joan declared.
'Foot Loose!?', Karyn mumbled to herself. This isn't foot loose, it's a barge. I don't want to have to drag all this junk around the mall. Peering into Jon's baby basket, Karyn whispered to the sleeping Jon,"What the heck, you won't even notice. Let's see, your birthday is June 26, this is April 2 so that makes you just over three months short of a year. So three months from off a year will make you as young as possible and hopefully we can travel a little lighter. Jon minus nine months."
Karyn looked away from the flash; looking back she saw a very tiny week old Jon. The diaper bag was now small enough to fit on the stroller, which was itself slightly smaller. Not small enough, but it would have to do.
"Ready to go?" Joan asked quietly as she returned and carefully picked up the still sleeping Jon from his basket to put into the car seat.
"Um, just a second, I have to grab something," Karyn said, dashing up the stairs. She couldn't forget the stone on a trip like this!
