Our trip to the grocery...

So I did something mildly crazy yesterday. I loaded up my crew and took them all.....ya ready for this?.....grocery shopping.

Did you hear the gears that keep the earth spinning screeching to a halt?

Praise Jesus for the car cart. And for buddy bucks. And suckers. And iPhones. And all the things I swore I would never allow my child to ride on, have, do, or eat.

I would never had done it except that I was missing at least one ingredient from every single meal idea I could think of, right down to peanut butter and jelly or scrambled eggs (no bread...or eggs for that matter).

Our local grocery has these rockin' "car carts." They seat two children, look like cars and have steering wheels. They are awesome. It's like navigating the titanic around an iceberg, but it works and seats two so I'm good to go. The littlest was in my Ergo carrier having gas...so in we went....me doing this total mommy walk/bounce combo trying to shake the gas out of the baby with the girls in their car cart enjoying suckers. Yep. I did it. I gave my children suckers to make it through the trip. No shame in my game, people.

So, there I was, having bounced by way through produce, meats, cheeses, and nearing the end of the cereal aisle when a fresh, blonde haired, joyful looking, 40's-ish woman turned the corner. You know the moment - you come out the end of an aisle with your cart while she's doing the same, nearly collide, yada yada....Anyway, she caught a glimpse of my all-kinds-of-crazy and lit up. Her eyes got bigger, her eyebrows raised and the most inviting and warm smile spread across her face.

"What an absolutely lovely family!" she slowly and genuinely remarked, staring first at the girls then catching my eye. She was followed by 4 children all in their tween and teen years. They too slowed their pace to talk and smile with my bunch.

Of course, my mama heart rejoiced that someone found my children adorable. (Well, they ARE!) But more than a prideful swell of happiness, I felt relief. Relief that someone...ANYONE...found joy in the three of the most joyful pieces of my life. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for approval. I love my kids and my family and we do our thing regardless of what's going on around us. But, when you are a mama of a lot of littles and you venture out anywhere alone with them, you generally get sideways don't-look-her-in-the-eye glances, the pitied half-smile, the wide-eyed what-the-ish-were-you-thinking-lady, or the parting of the red sea so you can get the Titanic car cart through with all the tiny human hair and arms and legs and books and snacks dangling over the edges...and that's IF the baby isn't crying. If he's crying, we just got launched into a whole new arena of looks, stares, and other shoppers stopping dead in their tracks.

But this woman? This woman had joy. Her children shared it. She was so thrilled to see me doing my mama thing and my children...my sweet, blessed, innocent, arrows-in-the-hand-of-a-warrior children doing theirs.

So, to the lady at the end of the cereal aisle...Thank You. Thank you for taking the time to show me how you really feel about mama's and their littles, because that kind of joy can't be faked. And the fact that you have passed it on to your children means you genuinely live it everyday. You see children as a blessing and by smiling and encouraging my heart, you helped me to see it too. Sometimes wrangling my herd feels overwhelming, and I don't always see them as the blessings they are in those moments. But your kindness reminded me.

And to you, sweet reader, when you see that mama of all the small ones tossing iPhones and candy and books and whatever else she can at her children to keep them occupied, don't judge her. Instead, give her a joyful smile and encouraging word. You might just be talking to me.