Solidarity {Mindful Mothering Mondays}

{Pssst!  Google Reader is a thing of the past.  If you formerly used google as your reader, you will no longer be able to get updates from this blog.  To continue reading Small Town Simplicity, you can subscribe to this blog using bloglovin'.  They have a handy tool for importing all the blogs you read before so we are sure not to lose touch!  Just click the button below to sign up using your Facebook account or email.  Thanks!}

Last week, I took all 6 kids to the grocery store.  I was hardly there 5 minutes before the comments began rolling in.  "Are you a babysitter?" asked the lady behind the deli counter.  "These can't all be yours!"  Over by the dairy section, a woman told me "You're brave.  I only have two and I would NEVER take them shopping!"  It wasn't until I swung into the baking isle, picked up a few bags of chocolate chips (to the cheers of my kids), that a lady quietly came up to me and said "I had 5, and I would bring them shopping.  People used to tell me they felt sorry for me.  I'm not sorry.  And I'm happy for you!"

Thinking about it all later, I wondered why Mothers are afraid to take kids to the grocery store, or out in public at all.  Certainly, children can lose it in the grocery store.  We've all seen temper tantrums in the isles.  A friend once confided in me her "worst mothering moment ever," when she dragged a kicking and screaming child out of the store, buckled him securely in his car seat before bursting into tears, too embarrassed to go back and retrieve a cart-worth of groceries still waiting in the freezer section.  But if it happens frequently to good mamas (and good kids, too), why do we act like there is something horrifically wrong with the picture - instead of calling it like it is: a learning experience for a child just finding his way in the world?

What Mamas do matters.  Sure, to our families, but to society as a greater whole.  And while many of us are not called to minister a world away, we can find our ministry right where we are.  To our own family, yes, but to those with lives that brush ours along the way.  That woman in the grocery, the one who told me she was happy for me - her encouragement gave me the confidence to finish that grocery trip.  Her simple comment reassured me, reminded me why I do what I do, to always hold my head up high - and to pass along the blessing.  The others, although their words were no unkind, displayed a sort of dubiousness about the whole situation - that it required bravery to take ones own children shopping, because something was sure to go terribly wrong.

If we could simply encourage each other on this path, we could make a difference.  Even as we walk our own separate journeys, we can become sign posts to each other, a safe harbor.  In small, right-where-you-are ways, we can pass on confidence.  To the mom with the tantruming toddler, a nod of solidarity.  To the mom with the screaming newborn in the church lobby, a smile of encouragement. Confiding to our Mama friends that we are just doing what we can.

We're all in this together.  None of us really know what we're doing, all of us want to do it right.  We want to raise good, loving, helpful, respectful, honest and strong moral children.  We could all use a boost of confidence now and then. When we choose positive encouragement, our impact becomes immeasurable.  We can touch the world around us from the helm of our very own grocery carts and change it for the better.

So here's to you, Mama.  Go ahead and take those kids to the store.  And even if it all goes awry, know I'm saluting you from here.  You've got this, you're doing a great job, and everything will be just fine.  

{It's Mindful Mothering Mondays, a day to take a deep breath and write out your mothering journey, whatever form it takes. A day to link up for encouragement from others who are in this same phase of life. A day of writing out the trials and triumphs and what you're learning right where you are, right now.

You might post recent struggles or thoughts. Maybe just a picture or a quote. Or maybe you'll just come here and read the links that others post. Whatever form your participation takes, this is a day for you.
We are all in this, together. Together, we can encourage and build one another up, be honest with our shortcomings and strengthened by community to keep fighting the good fight.

I chose Mondays because what Mama doesn't need a little encouragement on a Monday? As such, I'll have the link up ready to go on Sunday night for you to begin submitting your links.

I hope you'll meet with me each Monday! Here's what to do ~

Link up your post below. Remember to put the link to the exact post you want to link, and not just your blog url. Include in your post a link back here so others who want to join in can find us! And visit some other Mamas who have linked up.

Post the community graphic within your post, so people who are reading your Mindful Mothering post can come back here and find the rest of us!

Invite the writers of your favorite blogs to join in!

Share this meme with others on facebook and twitter. This community is for all moms, and the more that participate, the more we will be able to enjoy!!}

Grab the graphic here:

<center> <a href=”http://smalltownsimplicity.blogspot.com/“><img border=”0″ src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33nGWFb2YqBvZ2ZS-TaTwYSjYhNzQ5TsyXZbHO49CfTNnySLTZOjvSMRm6W3UVvixj_M5Aw9t17wSLFFAts22_rNk_9q4xVEQQ2GUcjevwiaR2i0wM5QN4BbX-4mcMEgI7jlHcruJtv3E/s1600/MMgraphic.png"/></a></center> If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to future posts.  Thank you.