Carrying Eachothers Burdens

It took me quite a few years to get smart about the little purses ans other trinkets my oldest liked to bring with her on outings. "Can you hold this, mom?"I and then you've.the one ealking around at a party with Betsy-Wets-and-Pees, a silly puttu egg with six pennies in it and a half chewed but very special curly straw. Useless burdens, right? Distractiins. Annoyances. Almost like black flies, really. Pretty soon you really meamn it when you say "Leave Betsy here or carry her yourself. "I a" How about that big plate of food at the party? You were distracted ...talking...and your four year old has two drumsticks, 85 cheese puffs, 6 chocolate cookies and gobs of red jello with fruit cocktail sticking to his fingers, the side of his face and he's coming towards you in your cute white capris. You takethe the plate, right? Cause it's one of those stupid paper plates that you really need ten of, but he only took one cause he listened to that part and he was rying to be really big and get his own stuff. Besides you were talking again. Now he has more than he can handle and you take the plate, right? You wouldn't consider making him carry this teetering pile of goo. You sacrifice your cute white capris. You cut your conversation off. You find a place for him to sit. You stand. You try to get that jello off your pants with a babywipe. See, you're distracted again. Some kids are like this. Some of them carry big messy plates and we would never consider making them carry that plate alone. What if you took the same kid with you to the post office at Christmas time. He's 4coming years old. Your car is full of the bocce sets you are mailing to your nieces and nephews. He hasn't eaten. You're on the phone. You tell him to get out of the van and carry those packages for mommy. You get out, keep talking and roll your eyes that he's walking. So slow. You wouldn't do that!! Maybe he could carry one ball. You'd never expext more. You'd carry the rest. Even if it took several trips. Maybe you'd even ask for help. If you could see that floppy plate. If you could feel the weight of that bocce set, you'd never want him to carry even a tenth of what tou are. But he is. And you've gotten distracted and you've forgotten what it feels like to be a kid with baggage. Dear God, help me to love the jello stains. Help me to not buy those white capris. Help me to always see those burdens.