http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5648388
Above the link was a picture of a mom on a park bench. The photo was taken from behind, but the posture of a woman looking down at her phone was unmistakable.
A quick glance at this title and this picture was all it took for me to get that twinge of annoyance, and I felt myself begin to climb onto my soap box.
I have many soap boxes, or "hills to die on," which is a common symptom of being part of a try hard family. This particular box is called "Dear Internet: Stop building comraderie amongst those who fall into a certain sin and giving them fuel for the justification of said sin in their lives through touching blog posts."
When I saw that title and that picture, I was reminded of the time we took our big girl to the park with a new, shiny, red ball. [Note: do not take toys to the park that you do not expect to share with random children.] Not five minutes after arriving, a little boy zoomed by and tried to slap the ball out of my hands. I was shocked! The callousness of this five year old! Where was his mother? On her phone. Smh (retroactively). Later, this same child caught the ball mid-throw and ran from MisterKidd as he asked for it back. Mother's location and status: bench, phone.
This open letter to moms on phones at parks reminded me of that experience and my annoyance with mothers (and fathers) who aren't intentional with their children. A day at the park is the perfect opportunity to connect with your little ones and make memories. This mom was squandering an opportunity to hang out with her bad little boy.
Furthermore, I was frustrated with the fact that the Internet has become a place where misery can find all sorts of company and one wrong man can find a whole host of friends. After reading this article, that mom on the phone at the park will feel justified in her actions and never repent of this nasty neglect.
So I reached the top of my box, chest out, shoulders back, nose high in the air, and typed this title for my blog post:
Justification for Sin, Brought to you by the Internet
And then I thought, "I'll read the article, just for kicks."
[insert embarrassed emoji here]
The premise of the article was "don't judge the mom on the phone." Basically, it was another valiant effort in the campaign against the "mommy wars," which are true and real and lie deep inside all of us mommies.
This mom could have been working, checking in with a friend, or just getting a brain break with a few levels of Candy Crush. She could have been doing the "Watch this, Mommy!" dance all morning and just needed a minute while her kiddo played.
Chest deflated, shoulders slumped, head hung, I'm climbing down from this box and onto another, a more beneficial and necessary box called, "Be humble, show grace, and stop being mean because parenting is so hard."
So here's my own little note to that mom whose little boy was terrorizing us at the park:
Dear Mom of Bad Little Boy,
Happy Saturday. Kudos for taking your kid to get some fresh air. He's been in the classroom all week and needed to release some energy. You work hard, too, and it's good to get out of the house together.
I know you're working on manners right now. Just like any other skill we teach our kids, it's so hard to stay on top of. It seems like every moment is another opportunity to teach, none can slip by, and you can't find a minute to rest your mind when you're together, or all consistency will fly out the window.
I'm sorry I didn't offer to let him play ball with us. I'm sorry I didn't go over to chat with you while our kids played together. I'm sorry I judged your entire family from one hour at the park.
I don't know your journey or your struggles because I didn't ask. You are probably trying hard, just like me.
"And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak,
be patient with them all."
1 Thessalonians 5:14
Have you ever had an "I'm better than you" moment and later got a serious wake up call? Tell me about it in the comments.
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