We live in a world and a time when being judgmental of others' decisions is at an all time high, in my eyes. We're constantly critiquing one another and comparing ourselves with others. It's really quiet sad if you think about it.
But what I've noticed is the judgement passed on parents is ridiculous.
I'm sure many of you have seen the video that's been floating around on Facebook where there are "groups" of moms and dads at the park - the breastfeeding moms, the dads, the working moms, etc. When I watched that video it made me sick. It was horribly, horribly accurate. I came away from watching thinking, "Why is this necessary? I don't understand why we can't just all be supportive of one another."
Let's get one thing straight. We've all judged - that's a no brainer.
And I'm not saying that I'm better than this person or that person, because I've had my fair share of judgmental thoughts. What I'm saying is that I wish we would stop. And now being a Mom, I've become so much more aware of that.
It's the little things that really seem to irritate me the most lately.
Dean and I were at Target last week picking up the usual - hand soap, paper towels, a candle, etc. We were on our way to the checkout and Dean was holding the dog treats (his new favorite activity - feed Doc treats). He was shaking them and clearly very excited. If you haven't been around Dean much, his favorite word is "MOM!" and when he's excited, you know it. He squeals and/or grunts - you can't miss it. So as he's shaking the dog treats, he squealed quite loudly. People typically smile and go about their business.
But there was this lady.
She was heading in the opposite direction with her teenage daughter, and she literally stopped in her tracks and spun around so fast to see, "what the heck is that noise!?"
I don't know why, but I was livid.
I stopped my cart, stared at her, rolled my eyes and kept going.
Why was that necessary? Have you never been around a one year old before? Have you never heard the excitement of a child? Why did you find it necessary to stop everything you were doing to "find the source of that noise?"
And then today.
We were eating lunch at McAlister's, our favorite Saturday lunch spot, and Dean was eating his applesauce. Well, he dropped his cup on the floor.
It broke my heart.
He instantly began crying, tears streaming down his little face. There was no saving it either. It was full upside down on the floor. It made me so sad for him.
And a young woman sitting two tables away from us, her back to us, spun around to see "what the heck is happening" and stared.
Honestly?
Again, I was livid.
Sure. I bet many of you don't think this is a big deal, and perhaps it's my pregnancy hormones or my momma bear coming out, but why is this necessary? Clearly a child was unhappy and was crying. Why was it necessary for you to stop eating your lunch, turn around, and stare at what was happening?
I've become quite vocal lately when people turn and stare, which embarrasses Ryan (a difficult thing to do). I said to him, "Did you see that girl just staring at us? Why was that necessary? Clearly we don't want our child crying while everyone is eating lunch, but is staring really necessary? That's so rude!" And I'm not shy to say this loud enough for said person to hear.
I want people to know that in my eyes, it's unacceptable.
Whether you meant it or not, your judgmental eyes are staring right at my family, and my one year old son, and I don't appreciate it. I don't stare at you while you're eating a lunch that I wouldn't have chosen for myself. So why stare at me? Because I have a child who dropped his applesauce on the floor and he's now upset, is not a reason.
I suppose that my point throughout this entire "rant," is that I wish we would consider and be more conscious of our actions.
If a kid is crying in a store or at a restaurant, it's 100% not necessary to turn and stare. I guarantee that the parents are feeling stressed about it to begin with, they don't need your judgmental eyes glaring at them. If a child is having a tantrum, don't look at the parent as if they should be "controlling their kid." It's hard! These little people have minds of their own, and there's only so much that we can do about it.
As a parent, if I catch the eye of another parent, I give them a big smile to let them know they're not alone and I completely understand.
I simply wish that we would be more considerate as a society of one another. Being a parent is freaking hard. I don't need outsiders staring and judging. Be supportive. Smile at a parent that's having a hard time. If a kid runs past you and the parent says "sorry," smile and say, "no big deal!"
All in all let's just be supportive of one another. At the very least, be more conscious of your actions towards others. This world could use a lot of love, and the least that we can do is be nice to one another and offer love and encouragement. I want Dean and Baby Morrow to grow up in a world that knows love and tolerance for one another. And they will only learn that from those around them.
"Be the change that you want to see in the world."
Perhaps we should start now.
No comments:
Post a Comment