Family Friday

It was spin class day.

Afterwards, I had about an hour before I needed to pick up my daughter from preschool. Typically, during that time, I go home and shower so that I’m not a hot stinky mess when I pick her up.

However, today, I decided I wanted to run by the commissary to get a few of our weekly staple grocery items: turkey, carrots, eggs, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, avocados, strawberries, blueberries, cucumber…

I knew it was going to be a rush. But, in that moment, the thought of going to get groceries without the kids sounded magical.

So…I rushed over to the commissary.

So fast, in fact, I didn’t realize until I was already there, that I had a major case of sweat going on and the proof was in my shirt!

I laughed at myself and thought of that video going around about the mom’s who hang out in their “active wear” all day. I shrugged off the sweat as proof that I “earned” that trip to the store “in my active wear!”

Anyway, so I get as far as the produce area (which is just as you walk in the doors basically) and…

I overhear a mom LOSING IT!

It sounded all too familiar for me.

In fact, I think at one moment, I was reciting the words in sync with her.

It went something along the lines of this:

“Are we seriously going to be acting like this the ENTIRE time we are in the store? You two KNOW better. This is NOT how we act in public…..”

Raise your hand if you’ve been there…

You KNOW what I’m talking about!

I think at one moment, I glanced over and she even was using the pointing finger! Note to self: stop doing that! It’s a little to much.

My first thought was…

“Wow! How many times has that been ME?”

How many times have other moms overheard me saying those same exact things? (probably with the pointing finger too if I’m honest here.)

It made me stop and think. Literally. I stopped with an orange in my hand for a good couple seconds longer than necessary.

Selfishly, it made me feel good!

It made me feel like

I’m not the only mom who struggles with her kids like that.

I’m not the only mom who feels like a failure when I take my kids to the store and they are overly loud or don’t understand the “walk on the right side of the aisle so others can get past you” rule (no matter HOW MANY TIMES I remind them!)

I’m not the only mom who feels like everyone is judging me for using the “pointed finger” technique.

To be honest, I wanted to hug her in that moment. I wanted to walk up to her and say,

“Thank you! I’ve been there and you make me feel NORMAL!”

I’ve written before about not judging each other as mom’s:

Stay at Home Moms vs Working Moms (why we need to stop the mommy wars)

My Kids Were Naughty…But, That Doesn’t Make ME a Bad Mom!

It’s something I think is so important. We need to be there for one another-not judge each other.

I regret not saying something to that mom in the commissary today. Instead, I just gave her an “understanding smile.” I pushed my “mini cart” (with no kids) on past and hurried to finish my shopping.

I learned a great lesson from her today in that, I’m not failing as a mom. I’m not the only parent who “loses it” once in a while. And, it’s even okay if my kids aren’t acting perfectly. It’s okay if people stop and stare at us.

Who knows…

Maybe they are having a moment like I did today.

Maybe they aren’t judging but rather feeling a little bit of the “pressure to be perfect” lifted off of their shoulders.

Maybe by “losing it” I can actually be helping another mom realize SHE isn’t the only one and feel better about herself as a mom. 

So, thank you, mom who lost it in the store today!

I’ll always be grateful to you!

With Aloha,

Lacy

Featured Blog Posts:

Spin Class…After a 10 year Break

Stay at Home Moms vs Working Moms (why we need to stop the mommy wars)

My Kids Were Naughty…But, That Doesn’t Make ME a Bad Mom!