FAM{ily} Matters

So, I'm at job #2 the other night (Wednesday), and one customer stuck out to me in particular.  For those of you who don't know, I work two jobs (and yes, it's utterly exhausting).  By day, I assist victims of violent crime.  By night, I am just your average cashier at the local HEB.  So, that's where my story starts...

Wednesday night, I had a customer who was a woman with three young kids, ranging about 4 or 5 in age.  This was a very large order, and her children were adorable!  Seriously, they were very young but were very well behaved - definitely something you don't see every day working in retail!  For all other retail workers out there, I sympathize.  Anyway, these children really were helpful!  They were unloading the groceries from the shopping cart and weren't picking on each other or screaming or yelling or asking to buy everything in the store.  They were simply assisting their mother, whom seemed very overwhelmed.  She also didn't have much to say as far as our conversation went.  A few muffled grunts at best!  The children asked for buddy bucks, which were given, and they were on their merry way to the buddy buck machine to have a little fun.  While they were gone, I had finished ringing up her order, which totaled roughly $240.  She paid for her groceries and then continued down to the bagging area - as we hadn't finished because, as mentioned earlier, it was a LOT of groceries!  Her daughter came back to the register first.  At this time, the mother took the opportunity to mention how much she spent and how they didn't even buy any meals, that it was mostly snack food and breakfasts.

The little girl had a terrified look on her face and responded, trying so hard bless her heart, that they did in fact buy meals (I'd have to agree with the girl - there were plenty of groceries there to come up with meals).  The mom rolled her eyes and was fuming at this point.  She simply said, "No", and looked at the girl. And if were possible, which I thought wasn't at the time, the horrified look on the little girl's face worsened.  At this time, the two brothers walked up to the register, as they had finished with the buddy buck machine.  The older one (still, roughly 5 years old mind you) asked his mother how much money they had spent on their order, to which she responded with an angry look.  He simply said, "Oh", and began fidgeting with the sticker he had just gotten.

I may be reading way too much into this, but it was very odd, and sort of confusing, that these children would be at all concerned about the total for their purchase.  I know that I am not a parent (yet!) and that there are different parenting styles.  I also know that children SHOULD know the value of a dollar and not want everything under the sun.  BUT, I also know that kids should not feel the strain or stress of financial burden that their parent(s) are facing!  They should definitely not have a terrified look upon their face when they see how upset their mother is at how much a grocery trip cost.  Seriously, my heart broke for those happy, helpful, loving children standing around their mother almost in tears.  As they grow older, maybe explain to them about whatever financial situation you may be in, but at 5 years old, that should not be a concern! Apparently, kids worrying about money for their family is a growing concern.  Read an article on that here.

This brings me to my childhood and recent evens that are related to this story.  Life is not all flowers and rainbows once you're in the real world, and I've learned that through experience and hardships these past few years.  But going through it also brought up memories of my childhood.  My siblings and I knew that we weren't rich and could afford everything that maybe our friends had.  BUT, we never really knew we weren't as 'rich' as we thought we were either.  And why is that?  Our parents.  No matter what their financial situation was at any given time throughout our childhood, they always made sure we had what we needed: clothes, food, a house over our heads, school supplies, and lots and lots of LOVE.  That's right, we were loved through it all, and even more so today, if that's even possible!  Our parents took the responsibility of being parents seriously and still do to this day.  This really struck a chord with me, and I will carry it on to when I have kids one day.

My childhood memories are happy.  There were always friends and family around.  There were gifts at Christmastime.  And we always had fun things to do around the house and outside.  We grew up in the country, so there was always something to be done outside!  From fishing in the tank, to picking star leaves, to helping check cattle, to creating a 'hideout' in the brush near the house, to exploring property that I didn't even know was ours until just recently.  There was always something to be found and exploring to be done!  Our priorities weren't material things.  We spent a great deal of quality family time together, which obviously has stuck with me all these years, and for that, I'm truly blessed and eternally grateful. It is my dream to pass this along to my children as well, when that day comes.

And to mom and dad, if you're reading this, {THANK YOU}!  Your love for all of us is ever-flowing and always present.  Thank you for instilling in us a great sense of love, family, pride, and accomplishment.  I love you both so much! 

My amazing family!