Good Things Always Happen at Wal-Mart

I've been in a really foul mood all day, and should probably have just stayed home in bed. But as a mother to five children, I didn't have time to do that. I had to go to Wal-Mart (one of my least favorite stores).

While I was there, I got the perfect opportunity to vent my foul mood. I was accosted in Wal-Mart's dairy aisle by a venom spewing woman who called me a bad mother. She called me a bad mother because Sam didn't have on shoes and socks and said, "Be a parent, for G..'s sake." Her tone of voice and face were absolutely venomous - it was really amazing to see. I've never been approached out of the blue by a complete stranger like that. After she spewed at me, she turned to walk away like a coward.

But, oh no. That was not happening!

So I followed her through the dairy section while my kids looked on in amazement.

It went something like this . . .

Susan: Excuse me.

B (we all know what that stands for, right?): No response

Susan: You need to listen to me.

B: Shakes head and keeps walking away

Susan: (Yelling now) Excuse me!

B: Probably a little frightened now by the scene I'm making, stops and turns around, while her friend stands there looking mortified.

Susan: You've got a lot of gall. You don't know anything about me. This child had socks on and he took them off.

B: Well then you should carry extra socks with you. What's going to happen when you take him outside now?

Susan: Well, obviously his feet will be cold for the 30 seconds it takes us to get into the car. . . How old are you?

B: How old are YOU!?

Susan: You're like what? A 22 year old know-it-all?

Then she dropped the "F" bomb on me. So I said, "That's classy," and walked away. Class is important, even in Wal-Mart (says the woman who just went yelling through the dairy aisle).

My kids didn't know what to think. Thankfully, they were too far away to hear because I'd followed her several steps down the aisle. If I'd been in a better mood to begin with, it could have ruined my day. But given the mood I'd started in, it was actually an improvement. I was happy for my kids to see me stand up for myself without it ruining my day. Although I can't stop thinking of all the things I should have said - I sure wish I was quicker on my feet. And I should have snapped her picture, dang it!!

Here Sam is perched like a gargoyle on the foot of my bed, the picture of neglect with his bare blue feet.

Of course, Sam should have had socks on, even though it was a balmy 40 degrees. In my defense, he did have them on at some point between the car and the store. But if I'm going to be honest, I have to admit that he does go around on occasional quick trips with bare feet. Does that make me a bad mom? Maybe. But I'm a good enough mom in plenty of other areas (and more important ones) that I think the lack of socks is cancelled out.

I'm willing to bet that once this woman has more than one child of her own, she'll eventually lose their socks on a cold day, and this whole incident will come back to haunt her. It will probably eat her up with regret for the rest of her life that she treated someone that way.

Eventually, she's likely to learn the lesson, too, that is sinking in deeper for me each day. You're not allowed to be a know it all until you've raised at least two children through their teens. By then, most people know better. I know nothing, and I expect to know even less every day for the rest of my life.