I lost sight of how powerful words can be. Over the past few days I’ve heard things come
out of my mouth that shocked me. Either
my filter had a 33-year warranty that just expired or I’m feeling a little more
entitled to my own space.
Yesterday for example, an overbearing woman gave me that
uncomfortable feeling in my stomach when she stopped to talk to my baby. She said he was cute for – you know – a
baby. She went on to explain how much
she didn’t like babies…as she was leaning closer.
I wondered to myself ‘who doesn’t like babies?’ and then I
wondered why she had picked us to talk to since –you know – I was minding my
own business.
I figured an insult was in order so I explained to her there
was no love lost since my son hates old ladies.
She was taken aback but still hadn’t left our space. She fired back some sweet sarcasm about how
much he seemed to like her (even though she was an old lady).
When I put my hands in the air and announced “It’s a
Christmas miracle!” she got the hint and walked away.
I was kind of horrified and kind of proud. A strange mix really.
My son is exceptionally cute and he gets plenty of comments
when we are out in public. There’s no
need to touch him. And no reason for me
to wait until someone gets that close before I speak up. Especially someone who feels compelled to
tell me her dislike for children while she’s leaning in for a cheek pinch.
Until he’s old enough to speak for himself, my baby is an
extension of me and I have every right to tell someone to back off if I’m
uncomfortable. I’ve come a long way from the days when I was told “Now go hug everybody
like a good girl.”
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