If you haven’t heard it now, you have heard it before :: Please keep your opinions to yourself!
I finally reached my last straw yesterday while running through the grocery store to pick up a few items. I get the whole taking the kids to the store is like corralling a heard of wild animals, even more wild at times.
Sometimes you do what you gotta’ do.
I normally try and do all the errand running while the older two are in school. This obviously makes life much easier during the school year. There are times when this is impossible, or you chose to bring them to the store with you for one reason or another. My reason this day was because I wanted them to take part in picking up items to donate for those affected by the flood. Was this a smart decision considering they had been in school all day? Probably not. The mother in me took over and wanted to teach them the act of kindness that was showed on us last August during the flood. So, to the store we all went.
Don’t be so quick to judge.
Oh, the judging. Don’t get me wrong, I have been guilty of judging from time to time.
The mom shaming and judging, though, has got to go … preferably down the toilet drain where it belongs. We are all too quick to judge at times. The judging of my son yesterday though, my gosh!
For those who don’t know, my son was evaluated around the age of 28 months and found to be on the higher functioning end of the Autism Spectrum. At almost 5 years old, he still has his quirks. Now epilepsy has been added to these quirks as of July 18th after meeting with his neurologist … staring-spell type seizures. It does not take much to set him off, and it didn’t take much yesterday while running through the grocery store.
During one of his “set offs,” a woman decided to make a little comment.
“Oh, looks like someone has had too much sugar.”
This took me by surprise. I responded, “Excuse me?” and she proceeded to repeat herself. I only wished I could have gone all spider monkey on her. Instead, I calmly informed her of my son’s condition. Yep, shut her up right then and there.
We shouldn’t have to explain ourselves.
After that episode, I was fuming. Why did I have to go and explain my son’s health issues with a woman I didn’t even know? Why did I feel so guilty for my son’s behavior at that very moment when, in all reality, he could not help it? We have to get it together and become more supportive of each other instead of judging and shaming.
Bring on the positivity.
How much better would that situation have been if she were to have offered words of encouragement? Maybe a “You are doing a great job, Momma! Hang in there!” Those few words right there would have made my day. It would have given me that “Go momma go!” attitude. Shoot, I may have even conquered Target with the kids after that one. No, not really, but you get my drift.
So, let’s change the world from all the judging and shaming! We don’t know what is going on in that mother’s life or the child’s life at that moment in time.
