Weekend snapshots

Alright, I'll be honest.  We indulged a bit too much this weekend.  The weather was so beautiful, we just wanted to be out. We went out on Saturday morning to grab some coffee and breakfast before Tim headed off to work for the day.  And then Saturday night was date night!  Dropped our little boo off and headed out to True Food Kitchen where I ate my weight in pita bread.  (They have GF pita, people.)  I'm only 25, have been married only a little over a year, and only have 1 kid who hasn't yet hit her first birthday, but I've realized date nights are vital in a marriage.  They're key.  They're essential.  And no parent should feel guilty about dropping their kids off at a babysitter's house so they can go have an evening to themselves.

(Step off soap box.)

Sunday was all about beachin' and grocery shopping.  This was the first time Ella had been out in the sand.  And she loved it.  Nothing brings a mom more joy than seeing her little one's face as she experiences new things.  

And then our shopping outing at Trader Joe's was unlike our others.  A woman came up to Tim and I and immediately began chatting.  Taken by Ella's full cheeks, she (let's just call her "Sally") complimented us on little Ella and our interaction with her.  Sally explained she was back at the store because she forgot to pick up coffee on Saturday.  (We've all been there.)  She told us about a mom she saw with her kids one of whom was in his pajamas.  The mom caught Sally's eye due to her playfulness and attentiveness to her kids.  So when Sally saw the mom in the parking lot as they both headed to their cars, Sally told us she said, hey mom!  great job!  The mom was taken back and didn't fully understand why this seemingly crazy woman was talking to her.  But they got to talking and Sally let the mom know she had seen the mom interacting with her kids in the grocery store and wanted to compliment her.  The mom was immediately taken back and began to explain to the total stranger that she and her husband had lost their 12-year-old son late last year.  And that ever since, she's questioned herself as a mom. 

I point this out because yesterday was International Women's Day.  And if there is any topic where women need to rally around other women it's motherhood.  There's so much crap mothers are judged on, it was insanely refreshing to see this woman, a mother of three herself, spread kindness and encouragement to other moms around her.

Yeah, it was pretty much a total ordinary weekend, but I was reminded that "we never know what someone else is going through and that it's good to say something nice once in a while (to total strangers)."  How simple of a lesson, but one that we need to be reminded of all too often.

Here's to channeling that total stranger's joy this week (and always).

Have a great Monday.