You have no idea what kind of day I had. Yes, yes, I know. I went grocery shopping at 11:00 at night, in filthy jeans, a nasty sweatshirt, hair that was so grimy it might have stayed in a ponytail even if I had taken the scrunchy out, and I'm sure the smell of horse manure still lingered in the air around me.
I know you saw that I had a cart full of convenience foods and I know it took forever for me to load everything on the conveyor belt. The price check annoyed me almost as much as it did you. I would have just had the checkout boy put the waffles back but I had promised them to my daughter.
I saw you roll your eyes and it made me squirm a little, but I wasn't about to let my baby girl go without her waffles. I heard your sigh as you tapped your toe trying to make it obvious that you were annoyed. But when you glared at me... and then refused to make eye contact with me as you began texting, I became a little angry myself.
I was tired. My head hurt and I was aching from the physical labor I had been doing all day. I had spent the day dealing with horses, tiling a bathroom with a grouchy husband, and watching my daughter bury her pet bird of nearly seven years. (By the way, this is the same daughter that I promised the waffles to.) I hadn't showered because I still hadn't been home yet. My kids were out in the van with with my grouchy (and now exhausted) husband.
So I took a breath, and squared my shoulders, and I decided I wasn't angry with you any more.
You see, I've been you, Girlie. I know what it's like to be dressed to the hilt and in a hurry. I know what it's like to be impatient and angry at the world. It's so easy to get ticked off when the checkout boy moves a little to slowly for your pace. Its so easy to feel superior to the white trash with the cartful of frozen pizzas and sugar based cereals.
But Sweety, there is something you need to know. One day it will happen to you. You will be caught unaware. Someone will be there to knock you down. When it happens for the first time, you will most likely return to your car; fighting tears the entire way. You will rehash, over and over, what you did wrong, and and how unjustly you were treated. You will cry because you allowed someone to stomp on you. You will be angry and hurt and, hopefully, you will seek out a friend that has a shoulder to cry on. I hope you have one that will comfort you and get angry for you because that is so hard to deal with.
But tonight? Tonight there are no tears from me. I have seen both sides and, while you almost got to me, I will not be pulled down. I am a mother... and a wife and... most importantly... a daughter of God. I went back to my van full of snoring children, loaded up my groceries, kissed my husband, and came home to write you a little note.
Yours Truly,
Erica
About Me
- leschornmom
- I am a 29-ish yr old married mother of 8. My family is my life and I wouldn't have it any other way. My darling husband is my very best friend and together we are raising 8 of the best kids in the world! They are Rose(12) Sarah(12) Ammon(10) Malachi(8) Gabriel(7) Hannah(5) Maggie(4) and Abbie(3) We currently own 2 dogs, 1 bird, 5 chinchillas, 1,000,000 rabbits, 1 cat, 4.5 horses, and one ferret. We just purchased a home that is definately a "fixer-upper", with land and room for the kids to roam. Our goal is to run a mostly self sustaining farm and live in peace as we grow as a strong family unit. We have seen our fair share of hardships, but we are thankful for the many blessings the Lord gives us on a regular basis!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
That's awesome Erica! I don't know if I could have kept my mouth shut. Would have probably said, "Just so u know, the world doesn't revolve around you!"
Nice post! Too bad she probably won't read it- or even recognize herself if she does.
You rock, Erica! I became exhausted just reading about all the things you did in just that one day out of your life!
You go girl! Situations like that are SO hard! I love your letter! One day she'll get it...hopefully sooner rather than later! :0)
Wow! I just wrote a letter like this to someone, only it was to the very nice looking, normal boy on the train, playing games with his oh so perfect family, who leaned looked me dead in the eye, as I sat playing games with my not so perfect boy (who was oblivious, thankfully), and said very pointedly to his brother "That kid is weird. Don't talk to him." Well,I'll take my "weird" kid over such an arrogant, judgmental, rude boy any day.
He'll never read it...but it made me feel better.
Still watching your life unfold.
Take care xxx Andrew
wow! You are right, someday she'll get put on the other side of the situation. Keep your chin up!
Great post. And well handled. We've all been there.. probably both as the person getting mean looks and the one giving them when we've had a bad day. We need to all remember to rely on God's gift of patience and pray for those who don't have it!
two thumbs up!
take that meanlooklady!
OK, new friend--been there. Could you maybe consider moving again? Like maybe next door to me?
Love your blog and your cute family!
My e-mail is jerianna@msn.com if you want to write.
You can follow my blog if you scroll down past all my books and the blogs I follow.
I'll be back on this site!
Jeri www.jerianna.hotspots.com Hey, Nellie!!!
Post a Comment