I was running through the grocery store the other day (why do I always do that? poor planning?), when I saw a very harried looking young mother with 4 kids in tow, running faster than me. . .The kids were all whining and begging, "Doritos, mom, please, please, can we buy some Doritos?"
"No," she yelled (a little bit of an over-reaction, I thought, but I don't know the history on that, so I'll keep quiet for a moment, and let this scene play out).
"But why not?" the oldest chimed.
"Because, I
hate Doritos, and they are messy!" (end of story? I still thought it was a strange, over-the-top reaction, but I can be theoretical here, because they aren't my kids;)
I continued through the store, but couldn't help pondering that little scene. Okay, I realize that mothers can't always do and say the right thing at the right moment - we are only human, and we often "react" rather than "act", in stressful situations. However, I could think of several ways thr mother could have handled thsy situation (it's so easy to yell instructions from the sideline), but she was busy and distracted. I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt here, and say that she most likely does not respond like that all the time.
I did have to permit myself a wry smile though, when in a few moments I passed the little family procession on another aisle, and noted that the mother had a bag of Doritos in her hand! (No, I did not go up to her, and say, "Didn't I just hear you tell your children, 'No Doritos!'???")
I know, I know, she's doing her best -- and goodness knows, I was right there with her a few years ago. But, where is Dr. Spock when you need advice? Moms should be Robots - preprogrammed to always do everything by the book!!!!
