I just got home from what was supposed to be a quick jaunt through Walmart to grab milk and some feminine hygiene products. I'm surprised the police weren't chasing me home with lights flashing and sirens blaring, because I'm pretty sure half of the other shoppers were tempted to call and report me. I assume that the two ladies who walked past me and said, "Oh, my!", and the other 57 people who stopped to stare as we went by, thought that I was somehow the cause of Katelyn's tantrum. (This must sound all too familiar since I just barely wrote about my kids being terrible at the grocery store.) I have said this so many times, but this really was the worst-behaved Katelyn has ever been in a store! Here's what happened. I put the two kids in the back of the cart and they were sitting there coloring. Katelyn must just have been in a bad mood because she refused to share the crayons and she kept pushing Carter. She had been warned several times when she tried to smash Carter into the side of the cart. As promised, I placed her in the child seat at the front of the cart and strapped her in. That's when she lost her ever-loving mind. She shrieked and screamed and took swings at me, over and over. I pulled over and tried to calmly talk sense into her, but it was clear that she was incapable of being reasonable, so I proceeded to rush through the store and grab the last few things I needed. The entire ordeal couldn't have lasted more than 10 minutes (from the time the screaming started), but it felt like an eternity. She continued the behavior throughout checkout and the walk to the car.
As a mom, do you really look at people and think they could control their kids better? I used to, but that was before I had any, or when Katelyn was still bound to an infant carrier and couldn't possibly cause trouble. Now I know better. Apparently I have the brattiest kids on the face of the earth, so I'm learning my lesson for ever having judged another mom's parenting skills.
Despite the drama, I'm in good spirits. I came home and sought comfort in blogging, and found a very funny story written by another frazzled mom. Thanks, Christianne, for putting a link to this on your blog. It was perfect timing. If you haven't read it, check out this E-bay post. It's hilarious!
Happy thought: I'm making progress! I didn't raise my voice one time throughout the ordeal - not even when we got home.
Book Review: Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth
9 months ago
5 comments:
Mel--that EBay post was hilarious! I can't believe the lady made $142 bucks off her Pokeymon cards! It just goes to show that there are a million moms out there who understand what it's like to take kids to the store. And we can empathize with one another. All the people that give you dirty looks have never been there themselves. That's the only explanation. I hope your day is looking up after such a trying experience! Just know that you're NOT alone...
You know I quit bringing kids to the store ages ago. Even still I avoid it as much as I can. For me, getting that embarrassed and angry, was not worth it. So I do a lot of shopping online and make trips to the store at night.
I just love the stories you have lately about your grocery store trips! Great job at not losing your temper with her, I KNOW I wouldn't have been able to handle that one.
That link was great. Can you imagine someone giving her $142?
Oh, my! (just kidding!) You did exactly the right thing, following through after warning her and then not losing your temper! If I'm ever critical of a mom at the store, it's not for how her children are behaving but for how SHE'S behaving--yelling at kids, etc.
I read that e-bay post a couple weeks ago, and since then, I've read that lady's blog a few times. She's really funny.
Just checked in our your blog again. I love hearing from you! Congrats on the new calling, I happen to be the Secrtary in the RS too. Maybe we could switch attendance taking notes, he he he. I also noticed the Dave Ramsey book on your nightstand. I think my dad knows that guy... maybe. Let me know if it's good : )
Post a Comment