Target moms
Since having Ella, we've had some interesting encounters. There was the lady who told us that she hates babies, but that ours was "one cute baby." (It got even weirder when she turned back to her table and proceeded to tell her peers I really hate babies.) Then there was the clerk at the grocery store who was irritated by a screaming toddler. She scoffed, looked at us, then at Ella and said you're never going to do that. You're too cute.
When you're a parent, you experience everything from glares, stares, and smiles, but I've found that there is one place where you'll find support and a friendly smile. And that's the baby aisle in Target.
I've had at least three experiences where I was perusing the baby aisles questioning the best baby food to buy, if a purchase was necessary, or if Ella would like a toy when a mom has given me advice. The first time this happened, Ella was only five days old. I was looking for a couple things that would help with breastfeeding. I was tired, distraught, and in pain. I didn't know what to buy. I didn't have a seasoned mom around to simply tell me "it would get better." In retrospect, this all sounds a little dramatic, but if I'm being honest, at that moment I was close to breaking down. In Target. In the baby aisle. Right in front of the stupid breast pump. When a lady behind a cart, who in my eyes looked more like an angel, gave me a couple tips, told me what helped her, and what could help me.
I remember I was immediately uplifted. I felt like I had been initiated into the group of people who "have been there" who "know what it's like" and who lend a smile to a parent dealing with a melting down toddler instead of scoffing as they pass by. I was so thankful for her simply reaching out to me that I wanted to go home and write one of those anonymous letters you see on Huffington Post entitled to the person who ___________.
I've learned you can never go wrong with lending a hand, an encouraging word, or a gentle smile. I thanked that mom that day, but she'll never know that she was more than a mom just buying bottles. She was a mom teaching another mom how to pay it forward.
When you're a parent, you experience everything from glares, stares, and smiles, but I've found that there is one place where you'll find support and a friendly smile. And that's the baby aisle in Target.
I've had at least three experiences where I was perusing the baby aisles questioning the best baby food to buy, if a purchase was necessary, or if Ella would like a toy when a mom has given me advice. The first time this happened, Ella was only five days old. I was looking for a couple things that would help with breastfeeding. I was tired, distraught, and in pain. I didn't know what to buy. I didn't have a seasoned mom around to simply tell me "it would get better." In retrospect, this all sounds a little dramatic, but if I'm being honest, at that moment I was close to breaking down. In Target. In the baby aisle. Right in front of the stupid breast pump. When a lady behind a cart, who in my eyes looked more like an angel, gave me a couple tips, told me what helped her, and what could help me.
I remember I was immediately uplifted. I felt like I had been initiated into the group of people who "have been there" who "know what it's like" and who lend a smile to a parent dealing with a melting down toddler instead of scoffing as they pass by. I was so thankful for her simply reaching out to me that I wanted to go home and write one of those anonymous letters you see on Huffington Post entitled to the person who ___________.
I've learned you can never go wrong with lending a hand, an encouraging word, or a gentle smile. I thanked that mom that day, but she'll never know that she was more than a mom just buying bottles. She was a mom teaching another mom how to pay it forward.
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