A mother of three was a row behind us. She was a bit perturbed you might say. I know I am not a parent, but I don't think I will be yelling at my kids telling them to shut up, then speaking in Spanish, then threatening to take this that and the other away when they get home. I'm sure parenting can be very frustrating and I know it's hard work too. You have to be able to think about someone else and how it benefits them and not you. You cannot be selfish.
Then there was a middle aged man, probably early- mid 40's, who was talking loudly on his cell phone about how he has a job interview coming up but if it doesn't go well he is going to move to another state if his daughter can pay for him too.
Now comes a rather large man, at least 400 pounds without a doubt, who sat while his girlfriend put the loaded the washer. His girlfriend was wearing leggings with rips 5 inches long all the way down her legs that were purposely created by the clothing designer. He starts telling her about how a man should treat woman based on what his dad raised him to believe. He says, "If a woman needs nice things all the time and can't just appreciate being with her man, then something is wrong." His girlfriend just nodded and then somewhere they changed their conversation to how he didn't like her cousin and how he doesn't want her hanging with her cousin. She begins to get upset and tells him, " My cousin is blood and that's all that matters."
Devin and I rapidly folded laundry, packed our clothes up and left. When we got in the car, I told Devin, " You weren't kidding. There were definitely some characters in there." He replied, "Yep it gets worse the later in the day." We drove off and went about our day running errands and what not.
Yesterday, we went for a walk in the neighborhood and Devin brought up how blessed he was to have the parents he has. He said he never realized how blessed and grateful he was til he saw how other people are. He reminisced about how his parents parented and how they did a great job raising him and his siblings. As we shared stories about our childhood, a red dodge truck comes zooming by. Two teenage boys were in the back screaming and being boys. The truck would speed up over the speed bumps so the boys would bounce around. The truck pulls into the drive way of one of the houses on the street and is purposely braking while the boys are standing up in the bed of the truck. Devin says, " I hope whoever is driving that truck is old enough to be able to pass for immature like the boys in the back. You know they are young and it can kind of be looked at that way but if the driver is older and knowing it's not safe to do that then what are they teaching the kids?"
Of course the driver ended up being a parent of one of the kids. I know you can have fun with your kids and their friends but you can do that and be safe at the same time. You can also be an example to your children also.
I know that I have been through many trials and tribulations in my lifetime. At times, I feel like no one else in the world can relate. But they can to an extent. What I need to remind myself is that there are other people who out there who are having an even harder time than I am at life and they are making things the best they can be for themselves. Sometimes we don't know how blessed we are until God puts a situation right in front of us.
Always pray to have eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God.
