it's an aww-gag-worthy post. don't say I didn't warn you.

okay, let me take a moment from my recent vent-a-thon and share a sweet little tender thing that happened to me this evening.  I was out to dinner with my sister and Cora.  It went fine.  Cora ate some unhealthy food and ended with pudding and ice cream.  A year ago I would've screamed at you if you even walked by Cora with an ice cream cone.  Now? (on seldom occasions) I shovel it into her face.  After all, her gums are insanely swollen and I kinda wanted to eat some cookies n' cream too, so it's only fair that I let her have some.  Also, I just really want her to go to bed nice and full tonight so that she might actually sleep until morning rather than her recent middle-of-the-night scream fests.  So, yeah, we were out to dinner and I was shoveling pudding and ice cream into Cora's face.  I was randomly singing with her (something I do without even thinking because as a mother you become certifiably crazy).  I actually was afraid our neighbors in the restaurant were judging the fact that I was giving my daughter this food, but I thought to myself "well, you don't know how swollen her gums are... and you aren't up with her for 2 hours in the night...!"  My psychoses were in full effect.

Okay, so dinner ends and I clean her up and my sister scoops her up to carry her and we start to head toward the counter to pay... and what happens?  Well, what came next was a DJ-screeching-the-records-followed-by-silence kind of moment.  The woman who was sitting near us looks at me and says (okay, insert "awwww-gag-worthy-moment" here) "You're an amazing mom."  I was shocked.  I was surprised.  Both, pleasantly, but still caught off guard nonetheless.  I looked at her dead on and said a simple, yet heartfelt, thank you.  She followed up with "Really, it was a pleasure."  I walked away stunned and nearly welling up.  I've never had a stranger stop me and tell me I'm a good mom.  My family has said it, friends have said it, but it's always in passing or something.  This woman went out of her way (in my mind) to tell me.  And it was nice and kind and made me really stop and think about it.  It made me wonder why does it take a stranger at a restaurant who just watched you shove ice cream in your kids' face to make you recognize that you're a good mother?  I truly stopped tonight and wondered this.  And no, I'm not saying this for an outpouring of "awww, of course you're a good mom!"  I sincerely wondered.  Not long ago I actually asked my sister for her honesty about this.  I flat out said "Do you think I'm a good mom?"  And she probably said yes, but to me, this random acknowledgement sort of meant more.  It was unsolicited, unexpected and unnecessary.  But you know what?  I'm so grateful.  I'm so grateful that this lady took the moment to tell me that.  She made me stop and think about who I am as a mother and what I do.  I always try hard.  I love Cora to death (recent posts aside) and I really do always want to do what is best for her.  It's kind of a shame that it took a random stranger to help me acknowledge that maybe I am in fact a good mother.  So anyway, that was my mushy moment of the day.  An unexpected fuzzy heart moment at a chinese food buffet.  I told you the food was unhealthy.