DearHaileeGrace.com

Dear Hailee Grace,

This morning, you and I stopped at a Starbucks to get some egg bites before school. We had some extra time because of your school late start, so we visited your friends at your pre-school before heading to kindergarten.

As we were leaving, you wanted to push the button for the automatic door, but there was a lady hurrying past you. I wanted us to get out of her way and remind you to think of others and be aware of your surroundings. (I’m sorry I hurt your finger when I helped you push the correct button.)

As the lady pushed past us and you were trying to understand what was happening, I said we needed to move because that lady was in a hurry.

Well…that lady was offended by that and shouted back to us that she “had things to do”. Surprised at her reaction, I told her there was no judgment in my statement, just an observation. And, I wished her a good day.

I’m sorry that lady was having a bad day and took offense at my instruction to you. But, I want us to think about and learn some things from this interaction.

1. It’s important for us to be aware of the people around us and be considerate. This is what I was trying to teach you.
2. We don’t have to let someone else’s hurry become our emergency. My mistake was in hurrying you along to get out of her way. A better choice would have been to move aside and let her pass. We had the margin in our day that she clearly did not, so we could have slowed our pace to get out of her way and then continued on without incident.
3. Sometimes people react more because of what is going on inside of them rather than anything you might have said or done. I didn’t know that lady, but maybe she was running late for an important meeting. Or, perhaps she was on the way to sit with someone in a hospital waiting room. Or, it could be that she knew she was behaving rudely, pushing past a child, and overhearing my comment made her feel the need to defend herself.

Whatever the case with her, it’s best for us to remember not to take everything personally. Chances are, the other person is fighting a hard battle of their own and the response was spillage from their own heart and nothing at all to do with us.

No matter what, I hope you continue to grow in the sweet empathy, compassion, and care that I already see flowing from your little heart.

I’m sorry we had a bad moment today, and again – sorry for hurting your finger. But, may this be a lesson for us both and may God truly bless that lady with a better day.

Love,
Mama