We are all guilty of being a git to mums with prams and kids sometimes. Before I had a baby, I can remember times when I was a complete bitch to some stressed-out, tired mum who was trying to wrangle her bored, tired and upset kids around the supermarket with a full trolley, while I single and in a rush with nothing to worry about except which brand of milk I was going to buy, tut-tuted to myself at her for being in my way.
To that mum, I’d like to say, I’m sorry.
I’m sorry I was a git. Because now that I am a mum, I can truly see things from the other side of the coin. And it’s bloody hard.
I was in the Aldi the other day with my 8 month old baby boy, who was being pretty co-operative about being dragged around the supermarket it had to be said. We were in the queue waiting to load the shopping onto the belt and I was chatting away to him and pulling a myriad of funny faces, when I spotted a young mum, who I had already run into on our way around the aisles. She had a huge trolley packed with shopping and four young kids with her all under the aged of six I would have guessed. The youngest was a teeny toddler who was still getting to grips with the whole walking thing, but doing a smashing job, and the oldest was doing her best big girl impression.
Needless to say, this woman had her hands well and truly full, as they followed her trolley and picked up random things like men’s clogs and magic car shine off the weekly specials aisle, while she tried to complete her list of groceries. I smiled at her and thought, God that is tough. I find it hard doing the shopping with one baby in tow.
Anyway, there she was at the next checkout over to me, when suddenly looked like she had forgotten something and dashed back like Usain Bolt to one of the aisles and asked the eldest girl to push the trolley up when it was time. And then it happened. One of the biggest acts of sheer ‘gittery’ I’ve seen in a long time. A single guy with a basket of shopping behind her in the queue, slipped in front of the kids who were oblivious to what was going on, and proceeded to put his groceries on the belt.
Prick! I thought to myself.
Just then, the out of breath mum came back to her trolley and look bemused at this guy.
‘Oh, we’re next in the queue,’ she informed him.
‘Well you weren’t here? You should have put your stuff up on the belt instead of leaving your kids to do it!’
Really? I thought to myself. Really? You’re going to be that much of a complete ass-hole and do this, to this clearly bedraggled mama who has her hands full with four kids and a trolley full of shopping, who has still has to navigate getting the items in and out of the trolley and into the car with said kids in tow?
‘You could see I was next, I just had to run back for this,’ she told him.
‘You hadn’t put your stuff on the belt,’ he spat as the man went on and on making heavy weather of it and making her and her kids feel like complete dog shit.
‘It’s not your fault,’ she went on to say to her daughter who was looking pretty upset by this stage.
Reluctantly, he moved back behind her in the queue, but was like a dog with a bone continuing to mutter snide remarks, as she tried to put her groceries up on the belt.
It was awful.
I wanted to go over there and give him a sharp slap across the face and give her a huge bear hug.
Seriously. Why are people such gits sometimes? Yes kids and supermarkets aren’t a match made in heaven, yes it can be annoying when you're in a rush, but it’s time people like this got over themselves and stopped for a moment to think just how hard it is to shepherd kids and a full trolley of shopping without having to put up with shit like that.
So don’t do it. The next time you’re feeling impatient, just stop and think. Put yourself in their shoes, cut the parent some slack, take a deep breath and above all just don’t be that git.