I am usually not the person who gets mad publicly unless there is a really good reason for it. I consider myself pretty calm but when I’ve had enough, it is beyond the limit. Today while at Walmart in Terrell I surprised myself with how I reacted. But this is something that has bothered me the entire day.

I am in the wellness area of Walmart, on my way to get some schampoo and conditioner when a lady asks me for help. It is clear that this woman has problem lifting her arms and sure enough she needs help getting a bottle down from a shelf where even I have to reach for. I figured out what bottled she wanted and she said to me “Thank you, my grandkids are standing over there laughing that I have to ask for help”. You said what lady? In the corner of my eye I see two boys, approximately 11 and 14 years old rolling their eyes.
On a normal day I wouldn’t have done anything more than say “my pleasure” or “your welcome” but today… these boys were not going to be my friends for long. I left my buggy, turned around and walked straight up to them. I asked them if this lady were their grandmother. With a “whatever attitude” they admitted that she was their grandmother. Oh Lord… they so wish that I was not the woman they thought… I asked them why they are rolling their eyes when their grandmother needs help. How would it feel for them if they tomorrow lost the ability to move their arms and no one wanted to help but rolled their eyes. What muscle on them will it hurt to help anyone. Oh, they got the entire spiel from me. I am on vacation, I could lecture them up until Monday. One day your grandmother, mother, father won’t be here. You won’t be able to turn back time. What you will remember is that time you didn’t take the opportunity to spend some minutes with them because it will never happen then.
People started to stop and wonder why a lady is talking to two boys like that but when they realized what was going on they just said Oh my… and walked away The boys as well started to become a little ashamed over their behaviour. When I was done talking I made them go over to grandma (who was at this time just standing with an open jaw not knowing what to say) and apologize for their ruthless behaviour. Then I said to the boys, now we continue to shop. One boy on the left side of the buggy, one on the right side and whatever your grandma needs you go and get and put in the buggy. And I was following them on a distance behind to see they were doing their job. Oh no, these boys were not getting out of my claws. We started walking and as we passed things I needed I got them and the boys did what they were told. They glanced behind now and then wondering if the bitch had left… nope she had not. When we came to the cash register I put myself in the line behind them to see what they did. Ha, they learned their lesson. One helped putting the things up on the belt, the other one helped packing and putting it back in the buggy.
The grandmother turned around and thanked me for her help. I asked her to just wait until I had paid my things which was about 7 items. I went up to the boys and asked them “Tell me, how much did that hurt to help your grandmother?”. Both boys a little humiliated still admitted that it didn’t hurt at all. “Then tell me, how does it feel, looking at your grandmother now, look how proud she is of her boys, how you have been able to help her and make her day a pleasure instead of pain”. They both looked at her grandmother who now was smiling of pride and ease and you could see a little lightbulb turned on above their heads. So I asked them to finish up this experience and make your grandma happy, when you get to the car, you help her in with the bags and return the buggy and for the future, what ever she needs help with you will help her. Because one day you are the one that needs help, and one day she won’t be here anymore. Appreciate every moment you get with her, okay!
When they left both of them shook my hand and said “yes ma’am, have a great rest of the day ma’am”…

As I said, my own reaction surprised me. But I think, or at least hope that I got through to them. Sometimes it just takes a stranger to talk to boys and girls to get them to realize that they know better than what they are showing just at this moment. But why is that? Why is young people so respectless today? I am not a mother, will never be so I don’t know how it is to raise a kid. Exhausting I can imagine.