Learn to laugh off the embarrassing moments in life

Learn to laugh off the embarrassing moments in life


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SALT LAKE CITY — While standing in line at Costco holding my 3-year-old daughter, I suddenly felt her stomach tighten. Then she sweetly said, “Mommy, my belly hurts.” Having just finished a day-long stint of the stomach flu with my youngest son, I knew what was about to happen.

Not wanting the gastro geyser to end up on her, on me, or on the floor, and knowing that we were a long ways away from the bathroom, I had to think quickly. I frantically scanned the room for the closest trash can. There it was, and it was a good 20 feet away. As luck would have it, the waste basket was not the standard, open-at-the-top kind; it was the type with the round lid and push-open door.

The up-chuck clock was ticking so I did what I had to do, I pushed her head through the flap and held on to her as she tossed her cookies (which was actually more like cottage cheese) in the garbage.


Too often, we get caught up in the stress of the moment. ... We fail to see the situation for what it is: an unfortunate moment that will soon pass, and one that is actually quite humorous.

I felt like a champ. In a way, I felt as if I had just scored the game-winning point. I had successfully avoided getting throw-up all over the place, I had saved us from having to get a change of clothes, and there was no, “Clean up on aisle 7” announcement over the store intercom.

All my feelings of triumph dissipated when I looked to my left, then to my right. All eyes were on me — the mom who shoved her daughter's head in the garbage.

Realizing how this must have looked to all those around me, I gently removed my daughter's head from the garbage, wiped her mouth clean, smiled to the on-lookers and laughed all the way to the car.

As I drove home, I thought about the times when this type of thing had happened before. I remembered when my oldest had “blown-out” his diaper all over me, making it look like I had spilled mustard all over my skirt. Then there was the time at the restaurant when my daughter stepped on a mustard packet, squirting it all over the backside of the lady walking in front of us.

I giggled over the many times someone pointed out to me that I had a Cheetos or chocolate hand print on the back of my shirt. I even snickered about the time my daughter wet her pants in the check-out line at Walmart and we were immediately surrounded by hazard tape and orange cones as if we were being quarantined due to our "bio-hazardousness."

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If you were to ask me if I laughed during those times, the answer would be a big, fat “no.” Instead, I spent those times being stressed, worried, embarrassed and offended. I believed I was the only one that those things ever happened to, that everyone was staring at me — and worst of all, that they thought I was a bad mom.

Too often, we get caught up in the stress of the moment. We feel as if the world is spinning around us and we worry about what it looks like to others and how they perceive us. We fail to see the situation for what it is: an unfortunate moment that will soon pass, and one that is actually quite humorous. Nobody cares or thinks badly of you. But if they did, who cares?

So the next time you find yourself immersed in spit-up, your child covered head-to-toe in who-knows-what and you just happen to be away from the comfort of your own home, laugh about it. These are the times you will look back on and laugh about anyway, so why not start now?

Oh, and one more thing — a diaper bag should also include a change of clothes for you.


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About the Author: Arianne Brown -------------------------------

*Arianne Brown is a graduate from Southern Utah University, mother to five young kids and an avid runner. Contact her at ariannebrown1@gmail.com, follow her on twitter @arimom5, or check out her blog at runariran.wordpress.com**

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