Page 30 - October Banner 2018_Neat

Page 30 October 2018
C atoctin
K IDs
by Anita DiGregory
“Lessons Learned from the Chicken Guy”
It was one of those horrible,
awful, no good, really bad days.
I was rushed, not Mary Poppins
“spit spot” rushed, more like Dirty
Harry “make my day” rushed! The
day was a recipe for disaster…start
with a frazzled, working mom of
six…add in hosting a get-together
at the house…mix in that the house
is already a huge mess…stir in some
extended family drama brewing in
the background...top it off with no
idea of how many guests will be
arriving the next day for said event,
and you have the recipe for my day:
the perfect storm!
I was more than just a little
stressed when I headed off for the
day, my giant to-do list in hand.
I had to drop off my daughter at
work, shop for gifts, shop for food,
pick up my daughter, drop the
carload of supplies off, get to Mass,
and get home to resume cleaning
and prepping, all within a matter of
hours.
Well, drop-off and gift shopping
didn’t go as planned, so by the time
I arrived at the store, I was focused
on getting it all done as quickly and
efficiently as possible. Grabbing a
cart, I mapped out in my head each
stop I would make, the last one
being the meat department where I
would grab the rotisserie chickens
for the gluten-free chicken salad.
And that, my friends, is where it
happened…right there in the meat
department.
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For kids and parents alike anything right, and she believed
no one liked her. It broke my heart
that this sweet, loving, devoted
mom was feeling this way. Having
felt this exact way just hours
earlier, I understood how she was
feeling and convinced her that her
assertions could not have been
further from the truth; in fact, she
is a wonderful mother and friend,
and people really do care about her.
After running all over the place, proverbial straw that broke this I am not sure why we moms fall
adding this and that to the cart, I harried mother’s back. As I pushed into this trap so often. It isn’t like
stopped by to grab the chickens. my overloaded cart to the register this mom thing isn’t hard enough!
The few that were left had been and waited in line, I played the Maybe we need to do a better
hanging out for a while. So, I interaction over again in my head. job of building each other up and
grabbed a couple more groceries By the time I had everything in the supporting one another. Sometimes,
from here and there and came car, I was wondering why, out of we need to work on changing how
back…still no fresh chickens. The all the customers this store must we look at things, our paradigm.
checkout lines were growing, and see, why did my chicken choices Dr. Stephen Covey said,
it was getting dangerously close frustrate this person so much he “Paradigms are powerful because
to my daughter’s pick-up time. I chose to counsel me. Having safely they create the lens through which
zoomed around and made a couple retrieved my daughter, I continued we see the world... If you want
additions to the cart. I returned and to focus on the day’s dramas and small changes in your life, work on
still no chickens! Now, by this time, felt increasingly insecure and upset. your attitude. But if you want big
I was pretty confident that the store There was a huge backup on the and primary changes, work on your
employee tasked with preparing way home; we had to take a detour paradigm.”
and stocking the chickens, whom and just barely made it to Mass on So, sometimes, we might have
I affectionately shall refer to as time. to force ourselves to realize that
“the chicken guy,” had seen me in Silent and still for the first time maybe the chicken guy was just
my harried trips back and forth that day, I felt the tears well up and having a bad day, too.
through the store. I was also pretty then the insecurities circled round;
sure I had unintentionally irritated “You are a mess…even the chicken
him on past shopping expeditions guy hates you!” Okay, this was
by sifting carefully through the definitely not my finest moment, but
chickens, looking for the most well true nonetheless. Now, in reality,
done bird. But, today, with the the chicken guy had probably had a
time clock clicking loudly in my bad day, and I had definitely had a
head and visions of my daughter bad day. But in those moments, all
standing out on the street waiting my insecurities and baggage that I
for me, today after he carefully and carry from other hurts translated in
methodically prepared the chickens my mind to, “Everyone hates me!”
for sale and placed them out and I God and my family helped me
scooped up the first four without sort through things and see the
delay, TODAY was the day he truth. But here’s the kicker: Later
chose to counsel me on my chicken- that very evening, I ran into a good
choosing strategies. friend who happens to be a new
Well that, my friends, was mom. After talking for a while,
it. Mic drop, game over. That she confided through her tears
quick little interaction was the that she felt like she couldn’t do
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