Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children, and no theories. ~John Wilmot
I love hearing people who don’t have children give me there opinions on how I should or shouldn’t raise my children. Would they like to take a stab at this whole motherhood thing?
I remember before I had children, seeing a mother fumbling in her purse, trying to find her wallet in the check out line with her toddler. That child was screaming as if the Earth was crumbling down all because they wanted the pen that the mom had in her purse. The child had a runny nose and red face, screaming at the top of her lungs. I remember how frazzled and embarrassed the mother looked. I can clearly recall thinking to myself that typical line, “My child will NEVER act like that.” I remember feeling that that child was a snotty nosed brat, acting like that over a pen!?
The unthinkable, the mother, after her repeated failure to calm the child, reached into her purse and handed the pen to the screaming toddler. The child stopped screaming and began to color on her hand with the pen. I was shocked!
How could she!? What was she thinking!?
That screaming child should have been given a stern talking too, not been given the pen! Surely she should NOT been allowed to draw on her hand! What kind of mother was she!?
I failed to notice a few things; the mother was purchasing Children’s Tylenol. The child was red, probably from fever and was more than likely crying because they didn’t feel good and less because they wanted to hold the pen.
So what kind of mother was she!?
Fast forward five years, and two children later… I know exactly what kind of mother she was.
She was the kind of mother, who wanted to get home and put that overtired baby to bed. She wanted to wash the pen off her little hands, give her some Tylenol, tuck her into her bed, and let her take a nap. She wanted relief. The look was not frazzled and embarrassed, but exhausted and overwhelmed.
I recalled this past scenario, a few weeks ago. My son, Troy, had been sick with asthma and allergies, which resulted in pink eye and an ear infection. He was miserable. He hadn’t slept well for a week, which means I hadn’t either. I was waiting in line at the pharmacy. He was crying, kicking, screaming…. I was exhausted so was he. I was hugging him and whispering in his ear, trying to get him to calm down. He was kicking his legs and arching his back (you know how they do). The pharmacist was watching with a look of disgust on her face, probably the same way I looked at that woman five years earlier. I got to the counter and handed off the prescription. It was a lonely feeling standing there across from this woman who evidently was disgusted at the way I was handling this situation. I asked her if she had children. She responded with a sharp, “no”. She then proceeded to tell me that if I didn’t control my son she would have to ask me to leave.
Now, all feelings from that point will be kept in my head, where they belong because it would be inappropriate to post them on this blog. But most parents I’ve spoken with have at one point or another been in a similar situation.
It made me wish I had been more understanding to that mother five years earlier. *Teaching moment here.
It is easy to think what you would or wouldn’t do before you walk in those footsteps of motherhood.
No two mothers are the same; no two mothers walk the same steps… I enjoy hearing how people do things. I enjoy talking to other parents and getting their opinions on certain aspects of parenting. This is all part of why I enjoy doing this blog. We all have strengths and we all have weaknesses. All mothers have something to bring to the table, something to offer. I enjoy talking to my mom, my grandma, aunts, girlfriends, the women around me who have experienced this thing called motherhood.
Have a topic you’d like to discuss with other moms? Curious to how other mothers may handle certain situations in parenting? Feel free to comment and I will do my best to quiz some local mothers and get their opinions on the topic.
-Holly
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