I'm going to get up on a soapbox now... Hold on tight! I was having a great day. I got a great workout in with plenty of sweat and worked my muscles to complete fatigue. I went an got a 20 minute chair massage at the mall, which was basically like 20 minutes of what I imagine heaven to be like. Then, I ran to the restore because our kitchen table has seen better days... like LOTS of better days. I walked in on cloud 27 from my massage. Then a man rolled a table by. As he rolled passed he said loud enough for me to hear "Nice tits". I stopped dead in my tracks, like I was stung and paralyzed.
Who says stuff like that? I'll tell you who, some douche bag that thinks women are a piece of meat. That views women by the size of their breasts and not the size of their brain, kindness or intelligence.
Why did this man think it was okay to say something like that? What would his parents, his children or maybe even his wife think? Those questions I can't answer.
What was I wearing? I took this picture when I was feeling defeated by this guy... that was my shirt. I took a look down at my attire. Cleavage was COMPLETELY covered. I was wearing a t-shirt, jean shorts and flip flops. Then I thought for a second, even if I was wearing my bikini or my cleavage was out, it's not his place to make rude, obscene comments like that. On a side note I thought, that would be like saying a woman deserves to be raped because of her attire. No woman deserves that!
How could I prevent my boys from saying things to women? I can tell you right now how we are doing in this area. The word stupid and hate are "naughty words" from our house. If someone says that, it's immediate time out. They hear their father compliment me. We talk about people being different, being beautiful and pretty. Things are beautiful and pretty, like butterflies. Luca consistently says "look at that beautiful butterfly mama!" When he sees one. I love that! Grayson is quick to tell me that I look pretty. He'll also tell me if I should wear something else... "Mom wear those shoes, they look really nice." Luca just started saying "that's ugly" and I've been working on correcting him. It might be ugly to him but saying that word doesn't make people feel good and can cause sadness. We talk about how things are ugly to some people and beautiful to others.
How could I prevent my Bella from having that said to her? I will remind her that her beauty isn't determined by her looks. Her beauty is determined by her inside, her kindness, the way she treats others, her strength and determination. The boys will get the same message. I will remind her that she should wear lipstick if it makes her feel good, not because it makes others think she's pretty. I will tell her to lift weights to be strong and push the limits of her body. So that she knows being strong is a feeling you can only get from yourself and being physically and mentally strong is something she should value. Am I as strong as others? No, but to me, I feel strong. That's what matters.
I will continue to remind her that men don't have control of her and how she feels... even though my mood completely changed when this man did that. Here's the thing, it caught me off guard and NOW I know how to react and what to say should this ever happen again... to which I pray, it doesn't.
Go off and teach your kids to be kind...
To the guy that stole my spark today, I've got it back and you, my friend, are a dick.
