Two Different Points of View ♥

I hate Wal-Mart. I'm talking I absolutely loathe that place with every fiber of my being. I hate the crowdedness of it, I hate the fact that ours is the biggest Wal-Mart in Pennsylvania and if I forget to grab something on one side of the store I have a half a mile hike back to grab whatever frivolous thing I needed. I hate the people everywhere who all seem to be in a race to grab the freshest carton of milk. I hate the parking lot where it seems like you are in the Indy 500 and its a race to find the closest spot to the door. And I really hate the fact that I live in a super small town and for one stop shopping Wal-Mart is my one and only option.

That said, when we needed a few odds and end in our house this week I was already crabby when loaded up my boys and pushed my cart through those double doors.

I navigated my way through the jungle of the store, attempting to push that fancy double wide cart with the duel children's seats in the front around, you know, the one that is humongous and ridiciously hard to navigate. I took up the whole aisle just to get a loaf of bread. I was growing more and more irritated by the second, that much was true.

The cereal aisle, that's where it happened. While Brayden and Gage were busy having a debate whether we should buy Fruit Loops or Cookie Crisp (Fruit Loops won out in the end by the way) I stood and allowed them to have their argument for a minute just so that I could catch my breath. A young, well dressed business woman stood up after reaching down for a box of Bran Flakes, turned toward me and said (in all seriousness, no smile, no hint of sarcasm.) ...

"Wow. You really must have your hands full with those two. Double the trouble. I don't envy you at all. Really, I would not like to be you."

Ouch! That’s a little harsh, especially since she repeated it a few too many times. Ok, I admit it was 5:30pm and I still hadn’t found time to shower, I was in no way “dolled up”, wearing very little make-up (if any). I probably looked a little disorganized…maybe a little scattered…possibly a bit overwhelmed. But come on, I'm a mom. That pushed me right over the edge and my irritation was fueled into 100% pure unadulterated anger.

I swung that cart right around and headed for the doors. We were leaving, toilet paper-less, laundry detergent-less, and whatever else was on my shopping list-less. I literally had to leave that store for fear of an oncoming explosion. And so I trucked on and headed for the exit.

I walked towards the checkout, unsure if I was even going to go through it. The idea of taking my boys out of the cart and just going home was becoming more and more appealing. Right about the time Brayden asked me why we had turned around a older man rounded the corner and we bumped smack into each other. Before the words that I was sure would come had an opportunity to bubble to my lips the man, with a smile and a soft chuckle, said ...

"Oh my goodness I am so sorry. Oh my your boys are adorable and so well behaved (he obviously didn't know them very well). Which aisle can I find myself two of those? (pointing at Brayden and Gage)

Wow! Two very different people with two very different perspectives on life.

There’s always two ways to look at things…
The woman saw them as double the trouble, BUT the man saw them as double the LOVE!!!

I turned around, with the most authentic smile, and finished my shopping.

xoxo,