Just admiring your family!

Moms of big families more often than not hear some pretty rude comments from family and total strangers alike in regards to their choice to have "more than a couple" of kids. I am far from a Mom of many or consider myself a household manager for a large family. However, in spite of having 3 kids I still get my fair share of rude and unnecessary comments regarding my family size. I've learned to shrug if off over the years, especially from strangers.

To all my friends and readers who have a large family or have the "heart" of a large family I want to share with you a refreshing and joyful story from an unassuming trip to the grocery store today.

My kids and I made our weekly trip to town today. Wednesdays are typically a very long day for us between the time it takes to drive to town and all the errands I need to accomplish while I am there. By the time we finally arrived at the grocery store this afternoon we were all tired. Because of this I did something I don't typically do; I put my younger 2 in one of those HUGE grocery carts like look like a car with steering wheels and the shopping basket out in front. I knew they would need some entertainment and a certain level of "corralling" to accomplish our shopping trip as quickly as possible. As I proceeded to the produce section with my limo sized shopping cart I made a mental note of all the fresh produce I needed. I parked the basket at the end of one of the rows so I could grab some things I needed without navigating that huge basket in the narrow produce aisles. I quickly grabbed what I needed from that aisle and returned with an arm full of fresh goodies. While I placed my items in the basket I noticed an elderly lady standing to my left with her basket. She appeared to be patiently waiting for me, possibly to have me move my basket so she could pass by with more room (there was already plenty of space for a standard basket to move by me). Nevertheless, I asked her if she was waiting for me and if she wanted me to move my basket. In the sweetest and most sincere voice she simply replied, "No, I was just standing here admiring your family." I was shocked! Of course I immediately thanked her. And with that she was on her way to finish her own shopping. She left me though forever and deeply touched. I wore a smile on my face for the rest of that shopping excursion. Such a simple gesture by this beautiful stranger brightened my day and helped to remind me that not everyone out there looks down upon those of us with more than "a couple" of children.