Life is funny. Just yesterday I contributed to Kristi's Our Land Series and wrote about how some one (in my mind) was judging Boo and therefore my mommy skills. That same day I was driving Boo to an appointment at Children's and well, you know how Boston traffic can be. If you don't know picture a 4-lane highway at a dead stop with a blinking sign telling you that it is only going to take you 37 minutes to go 5 miles. And your exit is another 7 miles past that.
As we are sitting in this traffic Boo starts screaming "HI" at the top of her lungs and waving at the car next to us. Here is where karma kicks my ass. He looked like he was in a gang.
So there I am judging, ON THE SAME DAY as I write a post about judging! Now in my limited defense, the car was pounding rap music so loud my feet felt the vibration. He was wearing the Mr. T starter kit of gold chains and earrings and had his head covered in a handkerchief.
After about (what felt like) 5 minutes of Boo calling "HI" this man finally cracked and waved at her. Then he smiled. And he had gold teeth to match his gold chains. The minute he noticed me noticing he quickly started scowling and changed lanes.
Yeah, I judged and still think he probably was in a gang. But it just goes to show you the power of my Boo. Imagine if we used her in crime control?
The life and times of Boo. A girl without a diagnosis but with unlimited possibilities!
:-)
ReplyDeleteEven the biggest toughest bad ass has to wave and smile at a kid. :)
ReplyDeleteHow sweet of the gangster ;) bring back MrT !!!
ReplyDeleteYour Boo can bring smiles to anyone! Yay!
ReplyDeleteLove that he finally gave in and smiled back! I bet he tried hard for those five minutes to appear like the bad guy *lol*. Boo is quite the charmer, I would say!
ReplyDeleteAwww so sweet that he smiled back!! Then again, who wouldn't smile at that gorgeous amazing little girl of yours?!?!?
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this post! It's so sweet! I know what you mean--it's hard not to judge when you look at the way a person is dressed or who they're hanging out with. But what is so cool is how children don't have these judgmental traits yet--they learn that from society. Your Boo is a perfect example of the beauty and innocence of childhood. This was such a wonderful post--glad I found you!
ReplyDeletetotally agree with everyone on the sheer irresistible force of your daughter's charm offensive lol
ReplyDeleteyou know.... I was struck by the view that you managed to convey in this Post, that there is such a thing as 'personal reality' or 'karma' and while it seems like you felt a little chagrin at your own perception of the scary guy, it is still a good thing! Because the fact is, you noticed/caught yourself.
The only bad thing about the kinds of situations you describe above, (that we all experience), is if the person cannot see how much it is their own 'choice' in how to react or respond to people and situations.
I'm afraid that people like, who have the bravery to see themselves from more than one perspective are in the minority.
Very thought-provoking Post.
First of all, I think you're on to something here, using her as crime control.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I find that it's a rare quality when a person is able to apply the same set of standards to themselves as they use to judge (that word again) others. I applaud you for not just noticing your own act of judgement but also proceeding to write about it.