Little Piggies Showing Make Me a Bad Mother?

I am not a big fan of WalMart but I'm also not wealthy. I continue to go because I save money and I can shop for everything in one place. One stop shopping is priceless to a mother of three. I've had several bad experiences there. They range from standing in line for 45 minutes to being accused of shoplifting a piece of furniture because the receipt was MIA in my huge coat (snagged from my husband because I was 7 months pregnant), but that's a whole other story. There are many more stories in the WalMart Vault of Bad Experiences.

I went to WalMart today to pick up a few things (Easter goodies, eggs, ham for Easter dinner, popsicle sticks for daughters project.) I was in the craft aisle, minding my own business, when an employee came up and said how beautiful Lucianna is (of course) and all the cute baby conversation that goes with it. The woman then noticed that Luci didn't have any socks on her feet. She stated that her feet must be cold (actually they were warm, my daughter is a little hotbox always radiating heat.) I told her it was really warm out. I thought that the conversation would end there but that was not the case. The woman then said to me in a voice slathered with attitude, "It's not that warm out!" She then continued to stock and straighten shelves with her head held high in superiority.

I suppose I could have let this go. I could have walked away. No not me. I HATE it when people judge me and criticize how I mother my baby. Maybe this "all knowing" woman thought that I was a silly minded first time mother. Maybe she thought I was poor and illiterate because I couldn't decide which brand of popsicle stick was a better value. Maybe this woman thought less of me because I have an awful rash of dermatitis. I must be a horrible person because I'm not pleasant to look upon. Right? Well she had better set me straight from my wayward parenting path.

Although I owed this woman no explanation, I wouldn't leave the conversation at that. I proceeded to tell her that my daughter's left foot is dropped. She has never and will never be able to move her foot back without assistance due to an underdeveloped nerve. I have yet to find a shoe or bootie to stay on that foot. (One day she did have booties on in WalMart and I backtracked all over the store to find that left bootie.) Socks that do stay on are usually too tight on a foot that the circulation isn't all that great as it is. Also I don't believe in over bundling my child and while were at it I also don't believe in cleaning too much because immune systems can be lowered by killing all the bacteria in your house. This baby has never had to go to the doctors office for being ill. My three year old hasn't been to a doctor for illness for over a year and a half. I can't even remember the last time my 9 year old was so ill that a doctor's visit was required. So the next time you open your mouth to judge a mother on her parenting skills, think twice about it.

She apologized, over and over again. She then was so embarrassed and said "Well she LOOKS perfect." I said, "She IS perfect."

And just so you know, my girls do get the occasional runny nose and cold (although Monica never, ever gets sick). The flu actually hit us pretty hard around Christmas. I thought we might actually have to go to the doctor, but everything cleared up without the dreaded visit. It was the first time in a long time.