Dear Lady Exiting the Family Dollar,
Yes, I noticed you. I noticed that you held the door for my daughter and I.
Yes, I noticed your subtle reminder to me that I didn’t say thank you.
Yes, I noticed.
But, did you notice that I was chasing after my 6 year old daughter in dire need of a bathroom?
Did you notice that she was quite close to having an accident?
Did you also notice that, although old enough to wait in the car, I didn’t want to make my older children wait for too long.
In your subtle way of reminding me that I didn’t say ‘thank you’ because you held the door for us, I hope you felt a little bit better about yourself.
I, on the other hand, am truly sorry that I didn’t say thank you. I am sorry that my mind was otherwise occupied with making sure my daughter didn’t have an accident right there in the entrance of the store.
Truly, I am sorry.
I did, in fact, appreciate your kind gesture.
However, I wonder if you’d be so kind in any other similar situation that you may be a bit more forgiving toward a stranger.
As I see it, yes, you did a kind gesture. Yes, I may have appeared to be a rude, unappreciative person.
But, isn’t it a little hypocritical to do a kind gesture only to follow it up with such a snarky response because another may have failed to recognize or, such is my case, Â was to preoccupied with saving her daughter from embarrassment and the store from having to clean up a mess?
So, Lady Exiting the Family Dollar, I am sorry for my rudeness.
