Out of the Mouth of Babes

Sometimes when you go out in public with your kids, you just brace yourself and hope they don't say anything too off the wall, but you know they probably will. Having taught school, I understand that young children say the first thing that comes to their minds; they are not being rude, just brutally honest. In fact, as a teacher or anyone that works with young children, you need to be aware and comfortable with any faults you have, because if you aren't they will point them out to you. "Didn't you wear that skirt last week Miss. Crolley?" "I'm going to be bigger than you when I get older." "Girl, you're fine!" (I have to admit I liked that comment, not your typical you're pretty comment, but I'll take it) "I don't think you are really fat yet Mrs. Maseda." (I was pregnant with Braden) "I still think you are skinny Mrs. Maseda." (I was so pregnant, not skinny AT ALL, the dear sweet child) You get the picture, kids open their mouths and you don't know what you will hear (sometimes good, sometimes bad, and sometimes appalling); you just remind yourself that they are just kids and let it roll off your back. Some adults however do not have that ability, like a certain older bearded man in Sam's yesterday. Rich and I were going up and down the aisles picking up various items in an effort to replenish our food storage while attempting to keep Braden and Brooke reigned in and Emma happy. We were almost done with our shopping list when Rich and I both heard Braden shout out, "Hey Santa!" We quickly looked up to see an older gentleman with a long beard, and ponytail I might add (not like any Santa I had ever seen). He quickly walked by with a scowl on his face; I guess he was not too impressed or pleased with the Santa comment, but his wife sure got a good laugh! I say, "Get over it!" "He is only a kid!" "We all need to learn to laugh at ourselves sometimes!" In fact, one thing that makes children so entertaining is that they are so spontaneous, both with their actions and their words; you never know what they are going to say or do next. I still remember my granny telling the story of one of her most embarrassing moments. It started out as an innocent little shopping trip with her daughters and her 3 young granddaughters. What started as innocent and peaceful quickly spiraled downhill, at least in her eyes. One minute shopping was taking place, and in the next minute my cousin Katherine was playing in the middle of the clothes racks, my sister Elizabeth was disrobing at the front of the store, and I was enlightening a woman on her height challenges. Being young and not well versed in tact, I simply stated the obvious, "You're short!" I don't know about all of you, but the mental picture of my granny standing in the middle of the store, watching all of this transpire, wanting to run screaming from the store in embarrassment makes me laugh! Meanwhile, my mama and my Aunt Ann calmly handled the situation; when you are a mother to young children, you become an expert at dealing with chaos and keeping your cool (well, most of the time; we all have our moments).