For the last two years, birthday snacks at school were not a thing. However, as life has transitioned back to normal, kids are now allowed to bring treats in again. And let me tell you, even if you throw a big birthday party and celebrate your baby’s birthday all weekend long, if on her actual birthday you forget birthday snacks, you may as well have forgotten her birthday altogether.
Thankfully, another kid in Maylie’s class has a birthday the same day as her, and he brought some so the class didn’t go without. But Maylie did make sure I knew that she almost cried when she realized that we forgot hers. Although I tried to spin in some positive — look, now you guys get treats two days in a row — there is nothing more deflating than feeling like you let your baby down.
So, after her birthday dinner, I ran to the store really quick to pick up cookies and juice and, well, like 10 other small items I knew we needed. With homework and nightly routines still to be done, I was in a rush. Not to mention I couldn’t get it out of my head that my little birthday girl was so bummed that day. After loading up my car, I returned my cart and headed home.
A few hours later, after I had the girls tucked in for the night, a phone call came through from a Lima number that I did not recognize. Hesitantly, I answered it.
On the other end, a lady called me by my first name and then asked if I was still at the store. Puzzled, since I had not been there for hours, I said, “no, why?” She went on to tell me that someone had found my wallet in a cart and returned it to the office.
You guys, I was speechless. Not only did I leave my wallet — my lifeline — in the cart, but I had no idea I had even left it! I literally wanted to cry for so many reasons. Mainly because had the wrong person found my wallet, there would have been so much time and heartache into recovering all my items in it. Since I didn’t know it was gone, ugh, they could have done some damage before I even had the chance to cancel cards. And getting a new license? What a pain.
But no, this wonderful angel who found it simply turned it in as it was. Everything was in it. I have no idea who found it, but I sure would love to tell them thank you and give them a big hug.
Heck, I probably could have used a big hug that day anyway. I was so bummed about missing my daughter’s birthday treats that I was focused on how to fix it and was frazzled. Because as Mamas we put so much pressure on making things so right for our babies that sometimes we get going too fast and do boneheaded things — like leave our wallet in the cart.
Honestly, I cannot tell you how many times I have felt like I was spread too thin but kept going anyway. I cannot tell you how many times I have tried to do all the things at all the right times for my girls and still come up short. And I cannot tell you how much pressure I put on myself to keep from coming up short.
And yet, sometimes I do.
The next morning, I loaded my sweet girl up with a backpack full of juices and a double-bagged grocery sack of cookies, enough to be able to hand out extras. And that evening she told me how happy she was to get to pass out cookies to some teachers. All was well again.
Except I couldn’t help but think about how, in all my worrying about those darn birthday treats, it could have been so much worse. Because of the kindness and honesty of a good human being, it wasn’t.
It kind of felt like that angel of a person who turned my wallet in reassured me that we make mistakes in life. Some are small like missing birthday treats, and some are bigger like forgetting our wallets in shopping carts. Regardless, they happen. When we let one of our small shortcomings take over our present situation, it only leads to more mistakes.
Thankfully, this time, it was OK. But it has definitely taught me to have some grace with myself with the little mom mess-ups. Sure, make them right when I can, but drop the pressure. We all mess up from time to time. Our babies will persevere.
And, if we are doing it right, they will grow up to be good humans who turn in wallets when they are left in shopping carts.
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