That Mother

You know the one. You see her in the store with her hair in a ponytail, wearing wrinkled blue jeans and her husbands t-shirt that probably has baby spit up on it. She has her hands full with a smaller child, her purse, eggs, a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread. She is also holding onto the hand of her screaming toddler while he wails about on the floor because he wanted the white bread not the brown bread. The toddler is screaming, the baby is crying, and the mother is on the verge of tears.

You feel sorry for her.

I used to feel sorry for her too.

Then I became that mother.

Little Man is testing my every being. Just tonight we went to the mall to play and have a good time since we had a great (behavior wise) day at the house. We got him dinner, got mama coffee, then rode the train and played in the toddler play area. Then we went to see the pets in the pet store downstairs.

Then all hell broke loose.

See, the pet store is right next to some annoying kid ride type things. You know the ones you put 2 quarters in and your kid holds on for dear life while the thing moves up and down and plays annoying music for about 30 seconds? Little Man wanted to play on them. I usually let him pretend play on them; I don’t actually put money in them.

But tonight we were busy. We were headed out to go pick up Stephen from work. Mama was over tired to begin with, and fighting off a migraine.

I had to literally pry Little Man from the dinosaur and carry him (and Little Miracle, my purse and Little Mans dinner that he never ate) about 20 feet away from the toys so he would walk. Then he threw himself to the ground and started hitting himself. I have no clue why he hits himself when he’s angry; we are not a spanking family. I had to squat down and talk to him for a few minutes all while people were angrily stepping around me because we were blocking the walkway.

This is not the first time this has happened. He used to be the best behaved little boy. I know all parents think their kid is perfect, but he really was an angel in public. He sat thru dinner or quietly played with his toys. He would listen and come with mommy when I asked him to.

I know this is a phase. That he is testing me. I will not let him win.

So next time you see that mother in the store, offer her a friendly smile and know she is doing her best.