some people are nice, some are not

I have become so accustomed to people thinking I look too young to have children that I was speechless the other night at the grocery store when a man assumed otherwise.  As I made my way toward the eggs and milk he said to me "This must be a nice break for you!"  Since I had none of my three children with me I was utterly bewildered as to how he would know that.  Maybe it was the items in my cart, but most likely it was the leisurely pace at which I perused the aisles truly relishing my time alone. I responded "It is!" with a smile and he gave me a pleasant smile in return before continuing down the aisle. 

He was so nice.

Contrast that with my experience at Hobby Lobby yesterday when I had all three children with me.  Ironically I was feeling quite good about how well the kids had behaved in the store and we were just about to pay. Eli got distracted looking at something and fell behind while I went with Cameron to supervise his treat selection.  A woman approached Eli and asked, in a voice resembling the wicked witch of the west "Little boy, where is your mother?!"  I stepped into view and calmly stated "I am right here. Come on Eli." He walked toward me and showed me the item in hand. I asked "Where did you get that?" (So we could return it to its proper place.)  And the cranky woman with cold eyes of steel snapped at me "What would you care!" She then stomped away and out of the store leaving me, once again, utterly bewildered.

She was not so nice. 

I hope I am the kind of person who can bewilder people with kindness rather than cruel judgement. 

**Side note:  If you remember my post about the late twenties you might find it humorous to know that when I made another delivery to D.I. yesterday the guys on the collection dock were listening to none other than Beyonce.  And let me put it this way, it wasn't the "sharp looking young man" that had been there before.