Slow down, you move too fast….

We were on the way out of Staples.  I had a huge oversized piece of posterboard in one hand and a bag in the other so there were no extra hands available.

“C’mon, Lu.  We have two more places to go and we need to make sure that we get home before Emily’s bus.”

As I do frequently, I noted that I was talking to myself.  The big double doors of the Staples had slid closed behind me and she was waiting in the vestibule.  A hurried man scooted past her, triggering the doors to open again.  A woman with an infant in a soft carrier walked past me and I smiled at her, knowing she would have to wake that little bitty when she placed them back into their car seat.  As each person walked through the doors, Lucy just smiled at me.  She was waiting to trigger the doors.  Herself.  Because that’s how she rolls these days.

I made eye contact with a woman who was probably old enough to be my mother as she started to exit the store.  She smiled and slowed her pace.  The doors closed.  Lu jumped forward and spread her arms wide as the doors opened, as if to say “I am the Queen of all that I survey!”

“You did it! That was Awesome! Now hold my pants, kiddo, we need to get out to the car.”

The older lady was walking towards me now and she smiled at me.  “You’re a good mom.”

That’s all she said. “You’re a good mom.”

Sometimes you just need to hear it.  You need someone to notice that you were being patient.  You were present and engaged and not looking at your phone or your to-do list or the softball schedule or the coffee that had spilled down the front of your shirt.  You were just there.  You were smiling and being a good mom.  And somebody noticed.

Thank you, Lady at Staples.  I needed that today more than you know.

Special thanks to Simon & Garfunkel