It's tough

I was coming home from visiting my family in Louisiana today. I needed a few ingredients for a soup I am making for church tomorrow along with a birthday gift for one of Lyla's friends who is turning one and celebrating tomorrow. I decided that we would stop in Hattiesburg at the super target. There I could get my groceries, the gift, and a Starbucks. :) Don't you just love super target??

As with most trips, I decided to stop at the bathroom first so that Lyla and I could both take care of business so as not to interrupt any shopping. There was a line for the family bathroom, so I decided to just take us into the women's bathroom. We did what we needed to do and got on our way shopping.

Now, if you know anything about Target, you know that most of the grocery sections are diagonal to the bathrooms-basically meaning, you cannot be further away from the bathroom when you are shopping in that section.

I was checking out the frozen foods when I saw Lyla lift her leg in her car seat. I thought it was kinda cute (heel stretch-haha) That is, until I saw what was literally "oozing" out of her diaper onto the car seat and into the buggy. Hadn't we JUST gone to the bathroom??

So, I put a wipe under her and we hall tail to BACK to the restroom area. Again, there are about 3 people standing in line at the family bathroom (I know it's big and all, but come on people!) So, I take her into the ladie's room where the ONLY changing table is right by the door-not in an actual stall. Clearly a man put it there! No woman with a child would EVER think that is a good place to change an infant.

I am struggling to change her and get her clothes off. (she has literally ruined her outfit) As I am doing so, women are giving me looks that could kill. I don't blame them really. The smell alone could kill. And here's what made it EVEN better. There were three VERY essential things that I could have used in my diaper bag that were NOT there. 1. Her laundry bag ( I ALWAYS carry it in her bag to put her soiled clothes in, but took it out JUST THIS MORNING!) 2. smell good bags to put the stinky diaper and wipes in-yes, I had NO other choice but to throw the "nasty" in the trash can. (To be fair, I did tell a Target worker to change out the bags when I left. )3. WIPES! Yes, I had maybe 3 or 4 individual wipes in her box. And trust me, this one could have used a whole box. So, I wiped her the best I could with what I had, wrapped her clothes up in toilet paper (there were no paper towels), got her in a one-zie, and apologized to everyone in the bathroom for the smell.

 As I am apologizing a woman comes up to me and says, "It's tough being a mom, isn't it?" Maybe she saw the frustration in my step or saw the actual sweat pouring from my head at this point. "It's tough being a mom"...

I said earlier that I had just left family in Louisiana. The reason I was visiting is because My Aunt Cathy, who lives there with her family, is not doing so well. She has struggled with cancer for quite sometime and has been moved to hospice.

I was only there for a day, but I got to talk to my cousin Hope (15 yrs old) about how she is coping with all of this. As we cried together, I couldn't help but think-man, that's HER mom in there. I watched as Hope would hold her mom's hand and tell her she loved her and my Aunt would just smile at her. She may not be able to respond to much, but she KNOWS her daughter's voice and her touch. My aunt is fighting to stay alive for her family because she loves them more than her own life! THAT'S TOUGH! Yeah, it IS tough being a mom!

 Thank you Lord for the time you give us with each other-even when it's messy and tough.

**please continue to pray for my aunt and her family**