Tuesday was a pretty typical day. Granted, I was operating a few hours less than normal for my own selfish reasons, but even Mom deserves a night out every now and then! Overall, I still felt pretty good. Maybe my leftover hairdo looked a bit disheveled or maybe my afternoon coffee was starting to wear off. Perhaps it was the mere fact that I had a small child in my arms. Whatever the reason, people today were particularly fantastic at the grocery store.
My sweet little Olivia was asleep when we arrived, so I gingerly placed her car seat into the
shopping cart and scooted around the store gently. Aisle after aisle, I kept running into the same dude who was shopping with his dude friend. The second time we smiled. The third time we exchanged a friendly “hey”. The fourth time we both started laughing. At that point, a family visiting from Sweden came up to admire the sleeping babe and ask for help determining which baby items were which. Apparently something was lost in translation. During checkout Livi woke up when a friend of mine found us and was helping entertain her while I signed my checks. His hands were full with his own groceries, but he was a fun distraction for her!
Sometimes Livi prefers to held during checkout and sometimes she sleeps right through it. When she’s awake, moving groceries from the cart to the car while juggling a baby is a challenge. Mom needs to be with baby’s eyesight or chaos will ensue! Doing all of this IN THE RAIN is whole new challenge. On this last trip to the store, I was wearing my little lady and a raincoat and holding an umbrella over the two of us. I managed to get my sopping wet paper bags (my fault for not remembering canvas!) into the car without them breaking and was looking for the cart return section. The woman in the car next to me offered…nay, insisted that she return the cart for me since I obviously had my hands full. I graciously thanked her and was one upped with her response: “You’re doing an awesome job, mama. Keep it up!”
Those few words made my day. I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear them until that moment. Sure, people compliment my baby all the time. And they ask how the baby is doing/sleeping/eating/learning. But not me. The words from this stranger were so encouraging and uplifting. I think we need more of that in our lives! Be aware of your surroundings, be receptive to assistance, be giving with your thoughts and go make someone’s day.
