A day spent running errands with Mom is a day filled with many small moments of waiting for two girls, starting before they even leave the house. “Boots and backpack. Lucky hat. Beaded bangles. Satchel Cat. Phone and wallet. Missing bag. While we wait, we chase and tag.” The brisk, rhyming text gains momentum as the trio is out and about, and the children must wait in line at the post office, wait while their mom chats with a friend, and wait for their food at the diner. Although usually able to find something to keep them busy, the wait at the diner asks too much, and the girls fall apart. Back home, they wait through Mom’s phone calls for dinner until finally in bed, they fall asleep, still waiting. Observant readers will notice that the ultimate wait is for Dad, whose “Be back soon” sticky note on the refrigerator is pictured on both opening and closing endpapers.