IN THEIR SHOES

Tonight as I was standing in line at the store I noticed a gentleman, probably in his late 30s, yelling at his 3-year-old daughter in a language I didn't recognize. He was notably irritated, and was roughly grabbing her arm to push her to the other side of her brother. Through all of this she didn't seem to be doing anything wrong and her confusion to the situation seemed to add to his frustration. Several other people in line were watching uncomfortably, and scowling at him. I've worked with child abuse before, leading to limited tolerance for mistreating a child, and I found myself thinking that if it escaladed, I would step in and say something. The scene itself stopped quickly, but I was still irritated with this man, disgusted by the way he treated his children.

We soon went to our separate counters and I was facing him as we were both checking out. As my items were being wrung up, I overheard his cashier asking him if he had a card. He seemed frazzled and replied that it was that it is under his wife's name but that he needed it changed to his name. He then become emotional and stated 'she just passed away. I'm trying to figure out how to do everthing.' As I saw the pained look on his face and the two little faces peering up over the counter, my heart broke. The cashier awkwardly apologized and offered to help him, and the rest of us looked down. I imagine that I wasn't the only person who had quickly pegged him as an impatient, disrespectful father, and it made me feel horrible for how quick I was to assume the worst of him. None of us can at all understand what someone else is going through until we've gone through it ourselves. And hopefully, we'll have someone there to help see the good in us, even if we aren't in a position to show it.