thanks for the smile

When I was pregnant, people held doors for me all of the time. I visited a few major cities and people gave up seats for me on subways and buses. I had someone give up a seat for me in a restaurant. It was fabulous! And stork parking was great. I used it every chance I had. But then I had kids and suddenly everything was back to normal. People would let doors slam in my face. A seat on public transportation wasn't happening and that special parking was a thing of the past.
And here's the thing: when I was pregnant, I still had both of my hands free. Yes, seats on the subway were great since my legs felt like wet noodles but doors were pretty easy to open and I only had to get myself into the store. Then I had kids and suddenly it took me five minutes just to get everyone out of the car. And those doors became a whole lot trickier to open. Push doors weren't too bad but pull doors required some fancy maneuvering. The door had to be opened far enough to push the front end of the stroller through with one hand. Then I would have to use my foot to prop it open and push the stroller the rest of the way through. I would end up in this weird straddle position and at the end there would be this quick hop/sprint to get myself through the door before it clipped me on the ankle once I let go of it. If the wheels got all cattywampus then I could just forget about getting through. And I can't even tell you how many times people just watched me struggle as they walked through the other set of doors.
And that brings me to the lady at the grocery store. I was there late in the evening with Jem and Caia. She walked into the cart area a few seconds after me. There was only one row of carts left so I grabbed the first one only to discover that it was stuck fast to the second one. I only had one hand free since I was holding Caia on my hip and I couldn't get enough traction to pull the carts apart. I noticed the woman walk out of the cart area out of the corner of my eye and grab a cart that someone had left outside. I realized I wasn't going to get the carts apart so I turned to head outside and grab one. And I had the small hope that maybe the woman who had watched me struggle was grabbing one for me. Her hands were completely free and mine were obviously not. However, she simply pushed her cart past me and gave me a very nice "hello" smile. Not helpful at all.
So please, when you see a mom with a stroller, hold the door open for her. And when you see a woman with her hands full, help her out with the carts. Smiles are nice and all but I'd rather have a hand with the door.

photo by: denissar  http://www.flickr.com/photos/82934380@N00/7986465707/