Yesterday afternoon I made a quick trip to the grocery store by myself to pick up dinner and I had to share my experience while I was there. As I made my way through the store from one end to the other, a woman with two children was right in front of me pretty much the whole way through the store. She had two little girls that were about 3 years old, one was in the shopping cart and the other was following behind the cart. The one that was walking kept throwing things from the shelf into the floor, screaming loudly when Mom wouldn't buy what she wanted, and just generally acting out badly. Many shoppers quietly commented how the mom should be able to control her children or just stay home. The mom kept saying how sorry she was and her cheeks kept getting redder and redder. I just smiled at her and told her how beautiful her children were and kept slowly plodding along behind her. When we finally reached the last aisle and it was just me and the mom, she turned around to me and told me her story.
Apparently, the child that was in the shopping cart was her 3 year old niece who just happened to be two months younger than her own little girl. For reasons beyond her control, the little girl had recently come to live with this woman's family and it had really had a drastic affect on their lives. She said that her little girl had NEVER acted out like that before, and she just wasn't sure how to change her behavior. The little girl kept asking her mom over and over again "And I get to go first, right Mom? Me first, right Mom? Can I please go first Mom?". She seemed desperate to be the one and only child again.
The woman told me that she felt horrible that total strangers were thinking such bad thoughts about her and just wanted to explain her situation. I told her that I understood, and the reason I understood is because my niece is going through a similar situation with foster parenting. It's amazing what you can find out if you just take the time to smile and sympathize with someone who seems to be having a tough day. I just wanted to thank my niece Stephenie for making me open my eyes to other people and to keep an open mind instead of instantly judging. I hope other people will take the same approach in their interaction with others. It can make a huge difference in the other person's life to have at least one positive interaction on such a miserable day.
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2 comments:
You had to go and make me cry today didn't you? ROFLMAO I so totally know what that poor lady was going through. It still is not fun here at all :(
I am so proud of you for making that lady's day. I love you. She loves you. She will always remember you.
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