Day 367
I went to my parent's house this morning. My mom watched the kids for me so I could go get my eyebrows waxed. It has been forever since I've had my eyebrows done. One of my new year's resolutions is that I am going to start taking better care of myself. I can't neglect myself. It's so easy to do when you're a mom, though. When you're a mother, if it comes down to getting something your kids need, or getting something you need, guess who wins? Kids, of course. And half the time, I just straight up don't have the time to go do things for myself. I'm not complaining. I'm a stay at home mom. I absolutely love what I do. I'm just saying, I have to make more time for me. I have to take at least one day a month, and take the morning off. Or the afternoon off. Get my eyebrows waxed. Pedicure. Haircut. Something. Something to make me feel like a woman. So, this morning, I took an hour or two to myself. And it was fabulous. I love clean eyebrows. They make me feel put together even if I'm just wearing baggy sweatpants.
After I got my eyebrows done, I went to Buy Buy Baby, and Trader Joe's. Without my kids. Shopping without kids is a luxury. As I was walking my cart back to Trader Joe's, I noticed a woman with two young children about Addy and Tobin's age. She was fumbling with kids, groceries, car keys, the shopping cart. I felt for her immediately. I've been there. There have been times after a grocery shopping trip with the kids that I just want to swing my bags around and let them fly through the air and land with a thud in the parking lot somewhere. And then I want to stand in the middle of the parking lot and scream and cry and curse and tantrum. I mean, chances are, Addy and Tobin will be screaming and crying already, so I wouldn't be alone. So, when I saw that woman today, I felt her pain. I walked over with my cart, and asked her if she'd like me to return her cart for her. She said yes and thank you. She also mentioned that she's never quite sure what to do considering that it's rude to just leave it in the parking lot. But, it's child endangerment to put your kids in the car and walk away, so...
I took her cart, wished her a good day, and started my long walk towards Trader Joe's. I park far away. Really far. I don't like other cars parking close to me. It makes it hard to get kids in and out and load up the groceries. On my walk back, I noticed another lone cart in the lot. So, I grabbed it up too. I had three carts total. And seriously, pushing carts is harder than you think. Especially through a crowded parking lot. Pushing those three carts back to the store today made me think about all those times that I have walked past a cart guy, and not thanked him. Or thought nothing of his job. It's harder than it looks. And they have to do it with like fifty carts. For eight hours a day.
I was happy to help the woman with her cart today. It was small, but small things matter. They do. Pushing a cart back to the store for someone might just be the little bit of kindness they need to get them through the day. I know there have been hard days when a small bit of kindness like that would have gone a long way for me. And the next time I see the cart guy at Wegman's or Trader Joe's, I'm going to thank them. What they do is hard. It's also thankless work. And it shouldn't be.
Thankful for clean eyebrows. Thankful for an hour or two to myself today. I really, really needed it. Thankful for a great day. Thankful for the beautiful snow. I'm loving it. Thankful for the cold. It makes me feel so nice and cozy inside. Thankful for my hot tea with honey and lemon. It's tasting especially good on this cold winter's night.
No comments:
Post a Comment