The Shopping Cart Corral

And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching.  Titus 2:7 (NLT)

I believe that's what they call them anyway...When I'm looking for a place to park at Wal-Mart, my goal is to park somewhere near the vicinity of a shopping cart corral so that I don't have to walk a mile back to the entrance of the store or in search of another corral.  Last night, we were at a different Wal-Mart and I was, of course, in a hurry so I didn't think about it.

As I was loading the car with my groceries, my little man hollers, "Hey, mom, the shopping cart thingy is way over there."  I see where he is pointing, Ugh.  Then he says, "Or you could just leave it right here where this other cart is."  And I saw where someone had left a car in between cars instead of putting it where it belongs.

The dilemma.  I'm in a hurry.  But it's not raining or freezing out.  There is already a cart there so someone is going to have to grab it anyway.  But that's not where the carts are supposed to be left.  I'm sure no one will think twice about me stashing my cart close by.  But my son is watching. 

This is one of those parenting moments where I find myself having that little tug-o-war in my mind.  I finally decide that although I need to hurry, another 30 seconds isn't going to make one shred of difference. (Shush it, Jay, I know you are laughing at that one.)  So I start towards the corral Lane had pointed out and realize that just three spaces down there was one in our own parking aisle.  So I made a u-turn and headed over to leave my cart.

You know it would have been so much easier to just leave the cart right there with the other one and it would've saved me 30 seconds, but my little man was watching.  In my mind, I knew that I had to make the effort, take the extra time to put that cart where it belonged.  Because how could I, in the future, have this same discussion with my kiddos, telling them to put things where they belong and not just where it is convenient to put them, knowing they've seen me doing the convenient thing?

I know it probably sounds trivial, but it is the little things like that that are important when teaching our mini me's, don't you think?  I read in a de-cluttering guide that we have to learn to put things where they go and not just put them down.  I have this struggle at my house, and honestly, it is probably because I like to take the easy road.  I shove the stack of papers to the side of my counter so I can clean it off, and they stay there for two weeks.  I leave the laundry, clean and folded, in the basket but decide I don't want to put it away right then.  So what does the rest of the family do?  Yep, my house is usually cluttered.

Our kids are always watching us.  They are always listening to us (I know, I know, we feel like they never listen to us).  They see those little things.  They hear those not-so-nice comments we make about someone or something when we get frustrated.  They see us cheat and cut corners wherever we can.  It never ceases to amaze me the stuff they bring up days later, things I didn't even realized they noticed.

When I start to get mad and frustrated with my kids because of the way they're behaving or their actions, I must first look at the example I am giving them.  When Madolyn says something sassy, I hear myself saying the same thing.  When Lane says he doesn't want to put away his clean clothes, he'll just leave them on his dresser where he can get to them quickly, I realize he's probably seen that in my bedroom with my clothes.

I'm on a mission to be a better example in my words and deeds.  We'll see how it goes.  And next time I'm out shopping, I just need to park closer to that shopping cart corral.