A Mother's Rant...

I've always been sympathetic to mothers who seem to have their hands full. Although, before I had my own I tended to make assumptions just as most people do. There are times I still raise my eyebrows at some of the scenes I come across. Such as the child who screams at his mother that he wants to watch the newest animated film they have playing on all the TV's in the store. Then she gives in after saying no for the fifth time. However, I tend to try not to judge because I'm sure there are times when people raise their eyebrows at me. Actually, I know there are times, I've seen it.

I'd like to take a moment to speak for most moms out there. Sometimes we have our hands full. Sometimes we've reached our breaking point and we just can't fight anymore and so we give in when we know we shouldn't just to have a little peace. Sometimes our kids are just tired, hungry, sick, or cranky or all of the above and there's nothing we can do about it because we still need to get groceries or pick something up at the store. Sure it's easier to handle when you have just one kid. It gets harder to juggle as you add in more. And don't get me wrong, we love our kids, and don't assume we can't handle our kids. Sometimes there's just nothing that can be done at the moment.

My friend told me a story the other day that made me incredibly angry. The military hospital here is usually packed and overbooked. A trip to the pediatrics clinic usually means a good 2 hours of your time. This is because it takes 45 minutes to get a parking spot and get to the clinic. If you're late they'll turn you away no matter if it's just 10 minutes. I know, it's happened to me. Then you wait for triage. Then they put you in a room and you have to wait even longer. If your kids are sick then that usually means a prescription. The pharmacy in the hospital is worse than the DMV. Last time I went my number was 160...they were on 104. I waited there for nearly 2 hours. So, the whole process can take up to 4 hours and that's if your child doesn't need any blood work or other testing. So as my friend was sitting there waiting for her own number to be called there was a mother with 3 children ranging from 6 mos to about 4 years. The 4 year old was crying and whining the entire time. Finally, someone speaks up and says "You know, there are other people here. If you can't keep her quiet then you just need to leave." Of course other people chimed in as well, muttering to each other about the annoying child and how parents just can't handle their kids. The mother profusely apologized and explained that her daughter is sick and she just doesn't feel well. They keep arguing with her how she's disturbing everyone. She started desperately explaining that all her kids are sick and there's nothing she could do and she was trying and her husband is deployed and she just doesn't know what to do. You would think they'd be sympathetic then. No. They continued their rant. Loud enough for the entire waiting room to hear. She started to cry and apologize some more. What a sweet soul. One of the pharmacist came out and grabbed her ID and started to fill her prescription for her then sent her on her way. My friend had hers filled about the same time so as she left she drove around to find the poor mother. She found her sitting in her SUV with all the kids strapped in their carseats and crying. Her head was buried in her arms and she was crying. My heart broke when I heard that. I'm glad my friend went to look for her.

I wish I had been there in that pharmacy. I'm not usually one for confrontation. But let someone tell me I'm not doing my job as a mother and they'll find that I get over my aversion to confrontation. Let me see a poor mother get ganged up on and I'll speak my mind. If she was sitting there on her cell phone or reading a book while her kid was crying then I understand the annoyance, but she had been doing everything she could to comfort her little girl. Don't assume that being a mother is easy. Certainly don't assume that it's easy being a single mother while the husband is deployed. It's not. It's hard. Those ladies should be ashamed of themselves. They should have offered sympathy and instead they kicked a mother while she was down.

So, next time you see a child having a meltdown, give the mother a sympathetic smile as you pass. My own daughter is constipated, teething, and just cranky lately...she has meltdowns on a daily basis. *gasp* yes, even in public.