Life has been difficult lately.
A friend reached out today and commended me, “for being an inspiration for how to handle difficult situations”…and that she’s not sure she would be handling life with as much grace as she feels I’ve shown.
Her comment got me thinking about the title of a book a friend gave me years ago – I Was a Really Good Mom BEFORE I Had Kids
I vividly remember a trip to the grocery store BEFORE children. A mom and a screaming toddler were standing in front of the dairy section. The child was throwing a fit, and the mother frantically trying to finish her shopping.
Right then, I pledged that IF MY CHILD EVER DID THAT I would leave my cart and walk out of the store.
I can hear all you moms laughing out loud!
Hell no! I’m not leaving that cart; the one that took me 30 minutes instead of 15 to fill because one kid was crying, the other pulling hostess cupcakes off the shelf, and the third telling you a story that they expect you to recall word for word as if they are the only other person in that store!
Guilty. I did NOT leave my cart.
The flip side of this story happened a few weeks ago.
My two youngest were with me at the store. They were hungry, tired, and ready to be home. Me too.
As I was looking at an item, one of them slammed the cart into a freezer door. Through clenched teeth, I grabbed the kids, the cart, and the item and hid in the next aisle, away from the married couple laughing at the scene.
That same couple was checking out an aisle over when we finally were done shopping. They saw us and apologized. They “didn’t mean to laugh, but we remember that same frustration not long ago. You’re doing good, Mom.”
They weren’t judging what they didn’t understand. I felt seen.
That book title has stuck with me all these years, and I have learned lessons along the way.
I choose grace.
I try not to judge before I have experience.
It’s true, I’m not perfect. Thus, I refer back to grace.
XOXO| Mindy
