Okay, so this happened last Friday. I wasnt going to share, although in spoke to my mom and sister about it. But upon further contemplation, I think its a situation every parent can learn from. I was at Martins loading groceries in the back of the van. Kids were in their seats. Out of the corner of my eye i saw a woman come out of the door pushing a huge cart full with two kids under 4 walking with her. She was attempting a strange shuffle shuffle push, holding the hands of both kids while she tried to move the cart down to the parking lot. As I watched, her son pulled away from her hand. She lunged to grab him, and as she did, the younger one, a little girl, bolted into the street. I was already moving and scooped her up just as a big jacked up pick up stopped about 5 ft from us. I helped the woman to her car safely and went back to sit in the driver seat of my own. When I first became a parent, I had the strongest convictions about the type of parent I would be. Time after time, reality and experience have crushed those ideas. Im sure i still know nothing, though I know a helluva lot more than I did when i first had Mia. Past Kaitlyn, with her perfect little baby securely held in her arms, would have judged the life out of that woman. You have to teach kids boundaries! Rules! Safety! Control your kids! I was stupid. So stupid. The look of terror in that womans eyes, the realization of what had nearly happened, the shame, the overwhelmed, exhausted at the end of your rope expression on her face.. she is no different from me. She isnt careless, or irresponsible, or a bad parent. Shes human. And she was having a bad day. Like i have bad days, like we all do. This is a public service announcement for all parents; past, present, and future. To past parents whi may have been on the receiving end of a dirty look from me... i was so wrong to judge you. I am so sorry. I knew nothing. To present parents- You cannot discipline your child into safety. Always be vigilant. Things happen in a split second and theres no redos. To future parents- parenting is an adaptive, learning process. Youre going to change your mind. Be open to experienced parents advice. And be open to your own experience. I am so thankful for this lesson I learned last Friday. god, I never want to witness something so horrifying again but it has made me more aware. For that I am grateful.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 14:16:16 +0000
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