A Proud Momma

To the cashier at the grocery store this morning,

We walked past your line in search of a shorter one. There wasn’t one to be found, so we returned to wait in yours. My baby was fussing because she was hungry. My boys were sitting in the cart, one squishing our hamburger buns while the other was busy ripping the Cheerios box. My daughter was holding onto the cart and asking for every kind of chocolate in sight. I should’ve bought myself at least one for braving the grocery aisle with all 4 munchkins, come to think of it.

I saw you give us the once over, and the thought bubbles were all but exploding above your head. “1-2-3-4?! Does she know where babies come from? She looks like she’s 18.. poor kid must’ve gotten knocked up at like 12! Who in their right mind would have so many kids so close together? They must have been oopsies. Her cart is so full, she’s probably going to try sneak something past me.” I tried to ignore this onslaught of thoughts and continued my attempt at soothing Rosie.

It was our turn to put our items on the conveyor belt and chaos ensued. Amidst many “Sit downs” and “MOMMY will put the eggs, thank you very much!” and “Don’t touch that!” we got all of our purchases out of the cart. I try to remind myself that at least the kids are eager to help me. But MAN is it easier to come to the grocery store by myself!

You greeted me with a stare and a sharp “Bag or no bags?” Where was the “Good morning! How are you? You have your hands full! They sure are beautiful!”? None of that. Ok, I said to myself. I can deal with that, I won’t ask you about your day either. Then came the clincher though.

“And the book is free today?” you asked. I was confused, my brain trying to rapidly make sense of the words it heard- I knew I should’ve had my third cup of coffee before I left the house. Is she making a joke that I’m taking one of the kids for free?

You clarified: “That book in the cart-you’re taking it for free?” I glanced at the cart, thinking I had missed something, but it was empty. Well, as empty as it can be with 4 kids and a diaper bag in it anyways. “I don’t have any books”, I told you and you realized what you thought was a book was indeed nothing. You don’t even apologize, you simply tell me, “Oh, that’s okay.” And proceed to ring through the last purchases and ignore me.

I was hurt and angry that you made such a rash judgement of me. I stewed for a while over all the hurtful words I could toss back at you, but I held my tongue. As I was leaving the store however, a new feeling dawned on me. Not everybody is going to think my kids are beautiful, and most probably won’t understand why I have four kids so close together. They might not respect me and my decisions, and some might be bolder with letting their opinions be known. But as I walked out of the store into the sunshine, I held my head a little bit higher. I smiled at my kids and took a running start before jumping on the cart to ride it to our red minivan. Because, you know what? I love every single one of my four, and I would not get rid of any of them just to look more normal. I am a lucky mom to have such a full cart.

So, I just wanted to say thank you, lady at the cash register. Thank you for acting how you did, because it strengthened my belief that this life is what I want.

And by the way, I hope you have a good day.

Sincerely, A Proud Momma