dear parents,
i saw you in the check out line with 4 small children. your oldest looked just a year or two older than our oldest. and your youngest was just about a year older than our youngest. i noticed that your children were all so quiet. two of which were sitting so contentedly in the buggies. they were well dressed. hair combed. not covered in barbeque sauce like 2 of mine. there was a definite lack of bickering, both amongst your children and with you. one of the biggest things i noticed was that they were quiet. they were quiet. they were still. and they didn’t look as though you had beaten or threatened them into submission. i wanted to ask you, the mama, if you were a homeschooler because you live so close to me and i would love to have a real-life friend to hang out with. but i was so distracted by my brood that i didn’t get to step over to talk with you. i mentioned to my husband that i wanted to talk to you and he said, “yeah, i want to talk to them too.” looking at how well-behaved your children were.
can i ask you: did i just catch you in a few minutes of peace? had the storm of typical-kid-in-the-store behavior just subsided or was it about to explode when you walked out? or do you know a secret that i don’t? how did you do it? would i see insanity if i were to actually have spent more time with you? were you judging our circus as much as i felt that you were? or did you just have pity on us? or, by chance, were you wanting to meet me as well and be friends? and while we’re being honest, can i ask how much you spent on your goods? can i see how you shop? can i learn from you?
sincerely,
the mom in line beside you that wanted to cry
4 Comments
October 26, 2007 at 10:30 am
Oh girl… we all have those great shopping trips and those horrible ones! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been stopped by some sweet lady just so she can say “Oh your kids are so sweet and so cute!” and also been given the evil eye by probably that same “sweet” lady the next time when my toddler decides to act like.. well.. a toddler. I went through about a 6 month phase with Carter that he seemed to cry the ENTIRE time we were at WalMart. He didn’t want to walk beside me, he didn’t want to sit in the cart, he wanted to RUN. Such is life! They won’t be little forever.. which is bitter sweet!
October 26, 2007 at 1:33 pm
**sniff****sniff** I feel ya…..
October 26, 2007 at 5:44 pm
How many times have I felt this way? I long to have those well-behaved, calm kids and to be the well-behaved, calm mommy. But my suspicion is that your hunch was right and that mom does have her times of chaos, and I also suspect that your family has moments of well-behaved calm. Do not fall into the comparison trap, just strive to please God as much as possible with what He’s given you. For right now, that’s probably a lot of chaos, just as it is at my house, and chaos is not necessarily bad, as your blog title attests!
October 27, 2007 at 11:33 pm
HAhaha!! Three days ago the woman at the studio told me that my children were so well-behaved and such wonderful listeners. I just smiled. Then yesterday, at the same studio, my toddler was totally out of control. He kicked a ball into customers, ran and hid from me, spit –YES, spit– on the props. I wanted to cry.
I’m glad to know I’m not the only one…