Friend #41

I have often discussed and pondered what I would do the next time I encounter a wayward mother with unruly children while shopping. Today I had the opportunity to put my thoughts into action.
I did not make a friend today. I'm pretty sure this lady hates me.
From the time I shopped for veggies, through the frozen foods aisle and beyond the shelves of bread, all I could hear was "Stop that right now or you're gonna get it when we get home!" I looked down the aisle to see a mother in her late-20s and three children under the age of four. Quite the threat for such small children! It sounded like something a dad would say to a 17-year-old son after breaking the car engine.
I followed this family because my Ego and I feel that we can turn a family around like SuperNanny. In the rice aisle, the year-old little girl dropped her purple ZhuZhu pet. The mother yelled to the 3-year-old, "DO NOT give that back to her! I'm sick of the noise!" I reality, the mom was making much more noise than anyone in the store. Five steps later, I handed the animal to the girl and smiled at her. She stared at me with drool seeping down her chin.
In the meat section, the older children questioned each mound of meat, wondering what part of which animal each package came from. The mother yelled at them to stop poking the meat. I smiled at them and whispered that what they were looking at was pig's feet. Yay me! I satisfied a child's curiosity!
We all ended up at the checkout together. The older boy asked for M&Ms as the younger boy asked if he could have Mom's change after she paid. "PUT...THAT...BACK!" she yelled. "No you can't have my change, are you retarded?" Whoa. My mind fast forwarded to these children at home that night, next year, as preteens, as adults/parents themselves. I hoped that they will have nice teachers or other caring adults in their future.
The baby reached out to her brother, seemingly knowing that her mother would not carry her. The four-year-old tried pulling her out of the cart while the younger boy talked sweet baby talk to her. "You wanna KitKat? You wanna sucker? You wanna magazine?" It was so heart wrenching and heartwarming at the same time. "Leave her in there!" the mom grumbled. The older boy replied that he was just trying to help his mom. At this time, both boys started getting antsy and running in front of the store. The mom purchased her groceries and cigarettes and wheeled the baby outside. Having only few items, I was soon finished and found them parked three cars from me. The mother struggled to get them in her car. As I walked by, I played Peek-a-Boo with the baby and received a very dirty look from Mom.
I always feel badly for these kids. There wasn't enough time to educate Mom on how to parent her kids. There was no time or space for me to show the kids love.
I'm sure these kids will end up at my school in ten years. At that point, I will do what I can to un-do what Mom has done for years and hope I can teach them that adults are safe.