Dearest Stranger At The Grocery Store

It was just your average grocery store trip. Well as average as a trip can be with two 3 year old boys who really hate to be stuck in a cart. When I grocery shop with the twins I generally have to put one of my little guys in the basket in the back because our grocery store doesn't have an double carts. As the cart starts to fill with groceries, the little guy who is become encased in produce and dried goods starts to become restless. The other little guy in the front seat part of the cart is starting to think it's rather unfair the his brother gets to “have” all of these wonderful packages and cans and peppers and apples. So I give him a bag so he can hold “his” produce on his lap. They are both chatting away at me, “Momma what's that?” “is that a tomato?” “Can I have an orange pepper.” I am so deep in my world of grocery list and interacting with toddlers and keeping them occupied that I didn't even notice your approach until you said “Excuse me Miss.” You didn't know that only moments before that, one of my boys managed to open a can of chicken noodle soup just enough to spill most of the broth on the grocery under him and onto the floor, causing me to have to find an employee so we could get a rag to clean up the mess before anyone slipped on it. You probably didn't hear me bribe those two cute little blond boys that “if they were good in the store they could pick something from “their” produce bag to eat in the car in the car on the way home.”

What you must of heard was one of those rare moments where I was having a fun, funny, and interesting conversation with 2 calm, seemingly well-behaved 3 year olds. When you walked over and said “Excuse me Miss, I just want you to know your children are going to be so smart. I've been a school teacher for over 30 years and the way you talk to your boys, well, it's just the right way. It's how I have always spoken to kids. It's just great!” Then you turned to my boys and said “Your Mommy is going to make you very smart.” Well, when you said that, it didn't matter if it was true, it didn't matter what you said really. The receiving the compliment, when I felt like things were getting pretty stressful, it made all the stress of shopping with my boys melt away. It made me forget how annoyed the store employee was when I asked for the rag to clean up Bodhi's mess. It made me forget the dirty looks I get when someone sees a child in the back of the cart, instead of the seat of the cart, even though it's my only option because that grocery store doesn't have 2 seater carts. It made me forget how stressful and embarrassing it can be to shop with my boys when the irritating and judging eyes of strangers fall on us as we shop. And that because one of my twins is the size of a 5 year old, that people assume he should have master volume control by now.

I just wanted to thank you dear stranger. You helped me get through one more day. You made me feel lighter. You made me feel proud of myself and my kids. You made all my worries of the day slip away and gave me that warm fuzzy feeling. A stranger. A simple 2 or 3 sentence compliment. Thank you.