Day 539: Can't we all just get along?

I didn't expect the world to change just because I had a kid. Actually, I should correct that. I did expect my world to change, but I didn't think everybody else should have to accomodate that. I knew we wouldn't be going out to fancy restaurants, I understood movies were a thing of the past. I didn't even feel particularly strongly about breastfeeding in public (although I completely support and applaud that right, for the record - no need to come burn your bras on my front lawn). I guess my point is that I knew the earth would not stop spinning simply because I decided to have a baby; I knew that if sacrifices were to be made they would be my own.

All that being said, I did expect some basic human decency to be extended my - sorry, our - way. Seems I was aiming a bit too high. This weekend I packed our bags, summoned my courage, and took Maddie grocery shopping with me. I had a list of things to get (a mental list, of course. I'm not organized enough for an actual list) and set off equipped with a steely determination. I think any mom of a toddler knows that a trip to the grocery store becomes a monumental task. You need to be in peak mental condition. I thought that I was, until we hit our first hurdle before we even entered the store.

So I am standing at the carts, loonie (that's our rather bizarre name for the Canadian dollar coin, for my international friends out there) in one hand, Starbucks in another, diaper bag over the shoulder and baby on the hip. I manage to free a cart, only to find the baby restraint - entirely vital to a succesful trip in our case - was broken. Luckily, there was a woman beside me who had also just paid for a cart. "Hi," I said, all smiles, "Can we just switch carts, mine doesn't have a baby strap." I nodded to the kid yanking on my hair as I pushed my cart towards her. Her answer? "No, I'm in a rush." Seriously. No, I am in a rush.

I was dumbfounded. I shouldn't have been, though, because this stuff happens all the time. There are lone drivers stealing the family parking spots, completely able-bodied and baby-free people pushing ahead of strollers onto mall elevators, lazy sloths sitting on the bus while some parent juggles two kids and five grocery bags.

Like I said, I don't expect people to go out of their way to make our lives easier. I don't ask them to put up with screaming or to change diapers. But is a bit of simple kindness here and there too much to ask?