I am finding recently that a lot of opinions are being tossed about. With this being an Election year it seems everyone has something to say. Everyone thinks what they have to say is the truth. Everyone thinks what they have to say is important. So I say to everyone, you are right.
We all have a constitutional right to say what is on our minds. Our country was founded on that belief. However, more and more it seems that what someone has to say is not always welcome. In some cases even its forbidden, or even chastised. Who are we to slap a hand or remove a blog, or delete a comment that someone has posted just because its what they perceive to be as right, whether we agree with it or not!
It’s a delicate time we are living in. You must be careful what you say to someone. You must always be politically correct. You must always be conscious of someone’s feelings.
As a parent I quickly learned that every parent has a soapbox of some kind. They have an idea or a theory on the way that they raise their child and they feel very passionate about it. My soapbox tends to be about lead paint in toys. So because of that we prefer no Made in China plastics for Elle-Girl. If you are a parent, what’s your soap box? What do you find yourself defending to the death? What do you find yourself arguing about with another mom in your “Play group”? You see…you do have a soapbox don’t you? I think as parents we must be sensitive to this.
When your child comes into the world you want deep down in your core to give that child the best, to protect that child any way possible and to provide for and just love that child to pieces. Some days I tell Elle-Girl I could just “Eat her face” as I smother it with kisses. (If you’ve ever seen her cheeks you’d know what I mean) Don’t you just know that every parent feels the same?(Sadly some do not, and those are the ones that should have been required to pass a test before becoming parents!) That being said, it should really bother you when you hear another parent condemn another for something they are doing wrong. Don’t you think?
I recently read on a blog about the term Sanctimommy. The definition for that term I believe is: Any mother who sees herself better than some other mother, and feels the undying urge to tell that other mother that the way she is raising her child is not the “correct” way. WHO IS SHE!? I’m sure we have all come in contact with the Sanctimommy in the past. I know I have. Especially when Elle-Girl was an infant and I would have older women come up to me and touch her bare feet, and say “Oh she looks so cold.” In which I had to bite my tongue from saying “Well, I thought about duct taping socks to her feet, so she couldn’t kick them off, but I didn’t think that would be appropriate!”
What I am saying is simply this, please, please, please dear readers, be respectful to others. How dare you for correcting your child for simply staring a minute too long at a person in a wheelchair, then shake your finger at a young mom giving her child a sip of sweet tea. Don’t do it. Think it, maybe. Want to say it out loud, sure! But let a Momma be a Momma and remember this bit of advice as told to Elle-Girl recently:
I found her sitting quietly, shirt up and digging at her belly button, she apparently had never noticed it before. When she looked up she noticed I was watching her she asked,
“Wassat?” pointing to her belly button.
“That’s your belly button.” I said
“Belly buttons are like opinions Elle-Girl, everybody’s got one.”
