"My Turn"

The screaming of an unhappy child assailed my ears as I walked into my favorite shoe store, Traffic, in Merritt Island Mall. There was a young girl, perhaps 18 months of age, in a stroller determined to let everyone know of her unhappiness.

Her dad was patiently attempting to quiet her as her mother tried on shoes. Her older brother of 5 years or so, unsuccessfully tried to entertain her in order to stop her crying.

It took me back to times in my life when I was frustrated while trying to quiet a crying child. My child would sense my weariness and cry more. It was especially trying when in public.

As I began to walk out of the store with my new sandals, I paused in front of the little girl. Instead of addressing or even looking at her dad, I looked right at her.

I said, “I just wanted to stop to see if I could get you to smile!”

She looked at me and instantly stopped crying. Then I proceeded to talk cheerfully about how hard it is to wait and not be able to run around while waiting on other people. I told her not to worry, that soon it would be her turn. She quietly watched me, entranced.

Then older brother piped up, “And then it will be my turn!”

I laughed and told him, “Yes it will be, and then it will be Dad’s turn!” I looked at his Dad who was smiling at me with an incredulous look on his face.

The brother then said, “Right now it is Mom’s turn.” (Mom was at the counter buying her sandals)

I replied, “Yes, it is good for Mom’s to have turns, because then they are better Mom’s.”

Then I said goodbye and waved to the kids. The dad smiled gratefully and looked at a loss for words as his little girl watched in silence.

I felt good as I left thinking about how little effort it takes to turn what could be a negative situation into a positive one.

“The heartbeat of our future lies in the souls of our youth.” ~Archangel Anael