Listen Carefully ~

Do you hear it? I'm referring to the screams of a child. And not just any child but our child!!! And not at home either but at the grocery store!!!!!! And the prayers, do you hear those? Those are the prayers of a mother who's praying for just another minute to get the last few items on her grocery list. Those are the prayers of a mother who's praying for the strength not to kill her child. Those are the prayers that I whispered to God as I begged for peace and calm to settle in on me.

I have no idea why Violet had her meltdown other than the simple fact that she didn't want to hold my hand. That's a rule we have when we're anywhere other than home... hold Mommy and Daddy's hand when we're out somewhere. I have nightmares of Violet getting away from us and getting lost. And with how our society is nowadays, that's just not something that we can afford or allow to happen.

While Violet and I were at the store, and she was throwing her tantrum, I got the stares and pitiful looks from other adults that they give when a child is misbehaving. You know what I'm talking about. We've all been guilty, at some point or another, of giving some parent those same looks. It's the look of, "Ah, poor lady. If I were that child's mother I'd spank her!" Of course, no one has the nerve to say such a thing to the parent of the offending child but we've all thought it. I probably would have thought the same thing if I were in someone else's shoes who witnessed what I went through with Violet today.

Of course, there are those who are willing to try to help the mother / father by distracting the child for them. I had two such women who were trying to help me out by doing that very thing. One was actually the cashier. She gave Violet H.E.B. Bucks and then an H.E.B. sticker, all in an effort to calm her down... but in the end, rewarding her for misbehaving. The second lady, the one who helped the most, engaged Violet in a conversation. She noticed Violet's sunglasses and commented on how pretty they were. She told Violet how cute she was and that she liked her pigtails. She became my best friend at that moment and Violet's guardian angel because she prevented me from killing my child. I joke. Well, maybe I mean it just a little.

Thank you God for sending angels into our lives who help us in our times of stress and prevent us from making a mistake that we will regret later.