Mud Pies & Minivans: Teaching Without Even Trying

An hour past the kiddos bedtime & there I was up at the checkout counter at last at 1 of my favorite children's clothing stores ready to check out. The cashier quickly scanned & folded my merchandise neatly into a bag, at this particular store I always find coming out with way more stuff then I plan-go figure.

Well, she had finally completed ringing everything up, I handed her my coupon, some cash, & then pulled out my card to cover the remaining balance. As I said, I accidentally purchased a lil' more then I planned lol. Well, the woman suddenly asked me for my identification. This caught me a lil' off guard because the people at this store typically know my children & I by name, but this woman was new & so I shot her a smile & began digging through my diaper bag for my driver's license. Of course it wasn't in there. That just would have been way to convenient & easy, lol. I told her I left it out in my car & to just go ahead & put back enough items so I could just pay her with the cash. I was tired & I knew at this point the kiddos who had held up pretty well so far were also approaching "done". The lady looked at me & then looked at the kids & told me she would just finish the transaction & if I could just bring in my id after. I agreed & thanked her.

After all of that was done, I headed out to the van with my 5 tired kiddos, double stroller, & bags of clothes. We finally reached the van & I could see the relief all over their sleepy faces, it had been a fun day but long & we were all ready to pack it in. BUT I had given that lady my word. The funny thing about parenting is that the largest part of training/teaching we do is when we aren't even trying.

Its them observing us bringing an item we didn't remember to pay for all the way back in the store even when its not convenient, its pushing the grocery cart all the way back to the corral when we are finished using it, its not smoking or drinking in front of your children (or at all) if you don't want your kids to end up smoking or drinking, its not being hypocritical & using the very same foul language we scold our children for using, its refilling the toilet paper when it runs out because that's what we expect from them, its treating & talking to our mate & those we interact with daily with respect because we hold our children to that same standard, its being honest & telling the truth even when the consequences hurt, its showing our children how to be people of our word & doing our best to keep promises & follow through even when we don't feel like it & the list goes on for miles & miles.

So, you know what I did? I took a deep breath, unloaded my bags, & explained to my kiddos that we were going to go all the way into the mall & into that store because mommy gave that lady her word. The kiddos piled back onto the Sit-Stand & we made our way all the way back into that store & showed the lady my id just like I said I would do. The cashier could not hide the shock on her face or the lady next to her for that matter. You know they didn't think I would really be back. WHY? I had every reason not to. Did I mention it was 2 hours past when I was supposed to pump & my breasts were feeling a lil' engorged? Yeah, I just said that, lol. The cashier looked me in the eyes & said, "I really & truly respect your honesty". All I could do was reply, "It was the right thing to do & I need to train them (pointing to the kiddos)".

I didn't go all the way back in there for a pat on the back, it was just a character call. I want to raise up ladies & gentlemen that are loyal, respectful, giving, honest, trustworthy, kind, loving, & all that good stuff. But how can I expect them to have those qualities if I don't myself? That would be foolish of me. I am not going to say that I always make the right decisions, but every day I am going to give it my best shot & if I fall short....Lets try it again tomorrow!

Keep it up!

-M&M Momma