Pat on my Back!

One of the most dreaded parts of motherhood is always the weekly grocery run. You're always afraid that you're going to be "that mother." You know the one I'm talking about; she's the one that can't keep her children from disrupting everyone around her. Her children run around her knocking over everything and everyone in sight. They can be heard as soon as they walk through doors even though you're in the back right corner. As these children's screams pierce through your eardrum, you think, "I wish she let me have them for five minutes. I could straighten them out." If you're like me, you're always afraid that even though your children are normally even tempered, today will be the day that it all changes.

Well, yesterday was my dreaded weekly grocery run. The boys woke up from their nap, and I quickly feed them their lunch. I made sure to be ready to go before I fed them so that I would be able to leave right after I finished feeding them. They are always much more pleasant on full stomachs. But then again, what man isn't more pleasant on a full stomach? I pulled into Publix parking lot and began unloading the boys, praying for a good trip the entire time. I weaved through the door pulling a buggy and pushing the stroller while feeling the pity smiles as I passed other shoppers. The boys smiled and babbled to the pharmacist while we were waiting in the pharmacy line. So far, so good:)

As I began walking down the cereal aisle, I heard an older lady mumbling under her breath about someone having too many children. Then, I saw them. It was "that mother" and her children. Her children almost knocked the older lady off her feet. I followed the older lady down the next aisle as she mumbled about not having children if you can't make them mind. As I reach the halfway point of my shopping, I heard it. There was another "that mother" in the store. Her child was screaming and wouldn't be calmed. I smiled at my boys and said a prayer of thanks. It was about now when I started feeling like a supermom. People around me began telling me how good my boys were. One mom had 14 month twin girls that she left at home with their dad. She told me that she could never bring them out by herself. Others began telling me that I was obviously doing a good job. Yet another lady asked me what my secret was for keeping the smiles on their faces. I told her, "Feed them before you bring them out."

By the end of the grocery run, I was patting myself on the back. While I was patting myself on the back, I remembered the prayers that I had offered up before I began my grocery run. Not only did God answer my prayer about not being "that mother," but He also gave me some much needed encouragement. God answered my prayer with more than I asked. It's these seemingly small gestures that remind me that God will help me through this pregnancy while raising my two sons. He's also going to help me raise our new addition whether it is one or two (we find out tomorrow).