Open Letter To Stranger: What You Missed

To the stranger in the store that told me how I have my "hands extremely full with that one" referring to my three year old in a negative manner, you saw him for two minutes.  What you didn't see was him opening the door for two complete strangers on the way in the book store.  You must have not heard him when he said "thank you ma'am" just a minute ago when we came up to the counter.  

Maybe you didn't notice that his little hands carried two very heavy text books for me because he wanted to help.  You didn't hear him in the car pulling up to the college when he told me how smart I must be to go to such a big school. Without a beat he then told me how pretty I look today several times on our walk in. You didn't see him jump out of the stroller to pick me “the perfect flower.” Not to mention he pointed out a special cloud in the sky and told me it was a “heart shaped cloud so it was made for me.”  You probably were not aware that it was past his naptime.  Maybe you also missed the fact that I am eight months pregnant with two toddlers.

Out of all the things you could have commented on you missed the most important things and focused on the one negative thing and that was my three year old was acting like a three year old. Not only is that discouraging to me as a mom, it's discouraging to have my son hear that from a stranger because you missed a lot.

Next time you see a mom with her hands full and a toddler running around, tell her what a great job she's doing, tell the toddler how good he is being. Next time try to think about what you might have missed the other six hours you were not around.  That one small compliment could make a world of difference to mom and child.