I took Lauren and Rach to Walmart today after a 2 week long endeavor to make Lasagna.
Yep, that's how we roll these days.
Got all the ingredients but by the time we got around to it I only had 1/2 the ingredients and kept having to go to the store to replace ingredients when we finally got around to trying to make it.
So the big thing now is to let them, her, whomever go into the store by themselves as they are growing in their training....Lauren has been wanting to go since she was 7 and I am STILL sending an older one with her..though she does handle smaller stores just fine, but Wal Mart? I dunno, I still want Rach or Sloan with her.
So I was driving along in and out of aisles looking, waiting, peering to see if I can see them in there...up down, in, out, I go... and while I go up one aisle I see a Hispanic Father pushing a cart to the car fast and seriously with Mom holding her toddler and walking behind.
I do NOT know why I immediately thought this, but Jeff and I never walk that way and I thought wow, does he beat her? Is she walking behind so the child doesn't irritate him?
Is she living a life she needs, hopes, PRAYS she gets rescued from? From this terrible man????
And I round the corner to go back toward the entrance and start peering again to look for the kids.
But I steal one last look at the family and he has turned around to say something to her and she throws her head back laughing unabashedly and totally NOT like an abused woman would.
And I was relieved for her. And remembered that women tend to always go to the most dramatic response. Or at least I do. And that they probably had a very happy life but by the meer fact that he was walking ahead of her purposely made me think something.
And of course their life wasn't perfect but at least at that last moment I saw them, it all seemed ok. And I was thankful for them and the relief I felt for them.
And for right now, the world's ok.
3 comments:
How old was Sloan when you first let her go in the store to shop alone? I definitely want to train my children to do this! Is 10 too young? I'm thinking yes but I could start training her right. Send her around the store with half the list while I get the other half?
And about the couple--I often make presumptions about families. I did it just yesterday at the ball field. One of the little guys on Joe's team had (what I assumed to be) his real dad, and mom and step dad at his game. Real dad was way cool (by the world's standards)--very hip looking and step dad was a #1 nerd. That momma sure went the opposite direction when getting married again. I felt bad for cool dad b/c nerd dad and mom also had two little ones and were the cute little family while real dad mostly sat alone except for when mom came and talked to him.
SO fun to be having conversation again! You were right Tif! Good way to get reconnected!
I send the girls in the store all the time. And they love it and so do I. If it takes longer than expected I do start to freak and call Jane on her phone. Now, I was seriously laughing about the walking behind the husband thing. I think I always trail behind Greg when we are in the parking lot with the kids.
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