If you have multiple children and you’ve been out in public with them at any time under the age of 8, there’s a good chance you’ve heard someone tell you “Wow! You’ve got your hands full! Stephanie ( Stephanie ), a mother of three who posts on TikTok as @_stephmorrison_, recently shared another statement that, frankly, we should all be using.
Personally, I never mind “you have your hands full” because, yes, random lady in the grocery store, you’re right: I do. It’s so hard. Sometimes I even find it effective to hear these words from strangers. others clear Even doing simple things like buying bread, milk and diapers can be a challenge for two small children.
But others are understandably outraged when they hear the news. Even said kindly and sympathetically, this is quite negative. At worst, it can make the mother feel insecure and low self-esteem. Like “I’ve been trying to hide the fact that I’m hanging on by a thread, but hey, thanks for noticing loud enough for everyone in the produce aisle to hear.”
But Stephen’s experience was just the opposite, and it was truly heartwarming.
“The sweetest thing just happened,” she begins in the video. “I had just finished walking and we were driving down the street and this old man stopped so we could walk over because we had a double-wide stroller that took up the whole space and he said ‘Wow! You’re going to have a lot of fun. Happy.
“I don’t know why I get emotional telling you now. But most people would say ‘you have your hands full’ and that’s my biggest pet peeve, but he’s so sweet and when he says to me ‘you Going to have fun.
“Like, dang! This is the vibe and energy I’m bringing to motherhood. I’ve had such a great time with the kids, so I don’t know why I’m crying telling you this. But if you’re a Mom, I hope you have fun too, because why not?
We loved this and so did the people in the comments, who were quick to share their amazing experiences of receiving kindness from strangers.
“Had a similar experience,” one person shared. “Met an older lady at Hobby Lobby. She asked to see my son and started crying. She said ‘Wow, he’s beautiful! You’re about to have the best time of your life.’
“I was 8 months pregnant and an older gentleman in the grocery store looked at me and said ‘best thing you’ve ever done,'” another wrote. “Tears!”
“Same thing happened to me today,” read a third comment. “This older woman stopped me and my kids from jumping on the leaves and said ‘I used to take my kids here. You and your babies will have these memories forever.
There is real power and necessity in sharing the difficulties of parenting. You and your baby won’t always stay close. you don’t always like Being a mom. You’ll feel tired, overstimulated, moody, angry, and that’s all very, very normal. But the joy in it is also profound. Maybe sharing this feels incredibly vulnerable. Maybe this anecdote can serve as a reminder to all of us, to other parents, those who are going through what we are going through, that there is beauty in this space too, and that it is worth quietly celebrating, if not every moment.
