To the Good People of the Grocery Store, With Love

Dearest people of the grocery store aisles:

Thank you, yes all of you, for your help as I carted my crying toddler around the store while I shopped. I’m sure that was unpleasant for you. I know it was unpleasant for me. And for him as well. Oh, yes, he was alright. Thank you for asking. No, that is not the norm. Thank you for your age-based speculation. No, I didn’t need to “take him to the restroom.” I just needed to be consistent while I shopped, which is not easy as it is, much less with so much help from a store full of strangers.

Why, yes, I could have just left the store, but then who would have won the battle? I could also have let him have what he was asking for, but again, then what would he have learned?

And, you there, in the floral department, the one who screamed, “Who’s that making all that noise?” at my already upset child, thank you, especially, because raising your voice at him sure helped to quiet him down.

For as bad off as I may have appeared pushing the basket full of crying around yesterday, you all made me feel so much worse than it was. I stuck to my convictions. I did what was right by my child. You didn’t make it any easier. But I thank you–I thank you for pushing me, for allowing me to know that I can stand my ground even when it’s tough.

HEB

Oh, good people of the grocery store, you might be wondering how I know I did the right thing. You see, when we got out of the store, no squeezie or donut to be had, this little boy of mine, the one you were all so concerned about said, “Mom, I’m sorry for hitting. I will make good choices.”

And that’s what it’s all about.

Much love,
Mrs. Gray

8 Comments

  1. Good for you for sticking to your guns and carrying on with your grocery shopping! I'm sorry that the strangers at the grocery store were not very nice to you with your crying child. I normally give the mom to mom small smile that I hope other moms see as my way of saying "hey, I've been there and it will pass AND your doing a great job!". I don't verbalize those things often enough to other moms I don't know, but now that I read this I think I'll start!

  2. As a mom who as had to take all 4 kids under the age of 5 to get groceries or starve I understand and have felt the same way! Kuddos to you for sticking with your convictions on how you feel is best to raise your child!

Leave a Reply to Lindsey Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.