Morning Grocery Shopping

I have noticed a big difference between the people that go morning grocery shopping and the people that go afternoon grocery shopping. 
The afternoon grocery shoppers are not usually in a hurry. They are happy and don't mind the crowd. They love Claire and will stop in every aisle to smile and talk to her. They mention how happy she is (even when she is not), mistake grimaces for smiles and make nice comments about how cute she is. I like these people. 
The morning shoppers, however, are in a huge hurry. They are grumpy and come early to avoid the crowd. They do not seem to like Claire at all and this morning I even had a lady say to me, "Your baby seems very unhappy," as Claire was babbling away to herself in the cart.  
I like to think of myself as a pretty happy grocery shopper no matter what time I go. I try to be pleasant to people. Laugh off any long lines, wait patiently if someone is in my way and apologize if I get in someone else's way. I like to smile at people I don't know and be helpful whenever possible, and this morning was no exception. I felt I was really doing my part in breaking all of those negative morning shopper stereotypes until this comment came at me and many scathing replies flew into my head like, "You must not have kids of your own." or "YOU seem very unhappy." In that short moment I could feel all the positivity drain out of me and the self doubt and bitterness start pouring in. And then I thought to myself, will it really make me feel better to make her feel worse? So instead of all the things I wanted so badly to say, I said, "She seems happy to me," and went on to explain how she loves to eat her crackers as we grocery shop and as long as there is a cracker in her hand she is glad to be in the cart. The lady seemed caught off guard by my response and said "She must be very smart." I left the conversation still wishing I could have said one of my other responses but knowing that this was probably better.
Now I look back on the morning and feel good about the way I handled the situation. I realize that it is so easy to be kind and positive when others are being kind to you and much more difficult to be kind when others are not. I wish I would always have the clarity of thought to choose kindness in moments like these and hope that I will more often than not. 

Matthew 5:43-48