How Rude!

This is my second post in a row where I am ticked off with people... maybe I need more sleep, or maybe people are just rude... maybe both!

So my love and I just went to the grocery store to pick up a few items for a pie we're going to make and tonight's dinner. My love thought it would be nice to get out of the house and do some walking, which I think is totally awesome seeing as my love just had brain surgery less than a week ago. Way to get in some physical therapy my love!

Anyway, my love is currently using a walker to help get around as my love's balance is a little off right now. My love has previously expressed discomfort with going out in public using a walker, so I was doubly proud of my love for getting out and going to the store.

My love is amazing and always strikes a wonderful balance between being who my love is while still striving not to make people too uncomfortable. I don't know if it was because my love didn't want to make others uncomfortable or if my love's head was just cold, but my love wore a hat to the store.

So with hat and walker we made our way to the produce section and this kid who was probably around 8 years old gave my love this rude, kind of mean stare. Now this frustrated me quite a bit, but I tried to ignore it, especially since he was fairly young and maybe didn't know the appropriate response to something he wasn't used to seeing. Yes, probably a stretch and giving him too much benefit of the doubt, but yeah, I tried to get what we needed and move away quickly. But then, I saw that this kid's mother was staring at my love rather rudely as well! UGH!! And, to me at least, these stares didn't seem just rude (which is bad enough), but they seemed almost condescending. I seriously felt like punching them. I had hoped my love might have missed the stares, but of course that didn't happen because when we got to the car my love said that the degree of staring was unexpected. Knowing the jerks had made my love uncomfortable made me want to find them and punch them even more.

It just really makes me angry when people stare at those that are different, and maybe it upsets me so much because I know I've done it and I always feel terrible for doing so. I'd like to think that I do my best not to be condescending even if something does catch me by surprise, though. I don't know, I guess it just really frustrates me. Those people had no idea what my love has been and continues to go through, they just saw a young person with a walker. It is none of their business either. People are people, can't we start treating one another as such?!?

So yeah, next time you see someone or something a little out of the ordinary, please try not to stare. I personally think a smile doesn't hurt either. Maybe some people would disagree, and maybe I will change my mind in time, but I think encouragement in the form of a smile is a whole heck of a lot better than rude stares. I know that when we were in the hospital, it seemed to mean something in my love when people would give a smile as my love walked in the halls with the walker or said something encouraging. Yes, hospitals are a different setting, but I think we should treat people well and encourage each other no matter what!