IMO…”Our Walmart Encounter”

It is one in the morning! We are at Walmart to pick up some dog food, because it’s right next door to the theater and our late movie just ended. As we walked past the row of Purina and other puppy chow, we heard a baby screaming a few aisles over. There’s always a loud kid or two (sometimes my own) at Walmart but, wait a second, IT IS ONE IN THE MORNING!

OK, maybe this mother had an emergent reason to be at Walmart, maybe pain reliever for her child or something, and she didn’t have a sitter – right? Maybe she’s homeless and just wanted to have warmth for her child in this middle-of-the night cold – possibly.

As we came across them a few minutes later, my anger quickly replaced my sympathy. Two women, two carts, a child in each cart, no socks, no shoes (on the kids – the women did have something on to keep their feet warm). The little girl was the one making all the noise. The little boy, who was the older of the two and appeared to be around four, was asleep – sitting up – in the front of his cart, pacifier in mouth. As we walked past the cart with the girl child in it (still crying), I overheard the woman pushing her say – “What are you crying for? Your mama will be right back.” referring to the woman pushing the other cart.

IN MY OPINION: That baby is crying because it’s one in the morning! What kind of a question is that?! Her feet are cold…but I’m happy to see that yours are plenty warm. It is January, it’s closing in on thirty degrees – COVER YOUR BABY’S FEET! There are two of you, so I know that one of you could have stayed home with the kiddos. Instead, you drag these little ones to a store at an hour when most babies are sleeping, wait, your baby boy is sleeping…in the front of the grocery cart, doing that “jerky” thing that someone does when they fall asleep sitting up, and keep falling over. Your carts are filled with plenty of items, and you’re taking it all somewhere, so I’m thinking you’re not homeless.

In case you missed aisle twelve, they have a wide variety of children’s socks up and down the left side. Why don’t you add that to the growing list of things you are throwing into your cart? If your budget is really too tight to purchase warmth for your child’s feet, then how about you take your socks off and put them on your baby?!

PUT SOME SOCKS ON YOUR BABIES’ FEET! TAKE THEM HOME! PUT THEM TO BED!…AND NEVER (in the famous words of Chris Tucker), NEVER, NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER – DO THIS AGAIN!

But that’s just my opinion…