Proud and not so proud

Proud
I'm so proud of Doodle Bug this weekend. She had a game Saturday morning and came up to bat four times, hitting the ball AND getting on base each time. She made two runs and could have made a third, but didn't run quite fast enough to 3rd base before being tagged.

We tried a new (lighter) bat for her and it was SUCH a difference! Now if I can just convince her to let me put tissue in the tops of her shoes, they'll fit better and she'll run better. We received the shoes as a gift from a friend who's a shopaholic, but they're one whole size too big. She found them on clearance for less than $3 - they're normally $40. Needless to say, I can't afford a $40 pair of shoes for her, so we've been making do. :)

Not so proud
The girls and I went to Walmart after church on Sunday to pick up some school supplies. Our cashier was a very talkative man. Doodle told him that we're buying school supplies because "we have a lot of school left." He looks at us and says "I thought school was just about over. Seems like they used to finish at the end of May. I think they finish at the end of May this year. Maybe it's June, I don't know. Sure is a lot of school supplies." I really didn't plan on replying, was just saying "Yeah" when "Well, we homeschool so our schedule is a bit different" popped out of my mouth. He gave me this horrified expression and said "Don't trust the school system, huh?" I have NEVER had this response before, didn't quite know how to handle it so I laughed and said "No, it's not that. I was public schooled and came out OK, this is just something we've been very blessed with." To which he replied "How do you know you're teaching them correctly, that they're learning their normal things?" Does he THINK I'm an idiot or do I have it plastered on my forehead somewhere?

This is where I got mad.. because my pride was hurt.. I shouldn't have said anything.. I should've just kept my tongue.. I'm working on it.. really I am.. "Well, Florida has very strict homeschooling laws, so my kids are tested every year to make sure they know what they should." "Yeah, yeah I know. Kids are tested every year. But what about yours? You could be skrewing them up" he replied. Hello? Was he not listening? So I repeated it a bit louder, the lady behind us backed up, my face got a bit pink and I said "I have them tested every year, by a certified teacher. Florida has very strict homeschooling laws. I don't get to do whatever I want, let them learn to eat paste and crayons and run around like barbarians all day. That'd be horrible." He just looked at me and finished bagging my groceries and gave me my receipt. Behind him, in another check out lane, an older lady was smiling at me. Either she was giving me a "That's wonderful" smile or a "Wow, you're crazy and I don't want to make you mad" smile.

As we walked out of the store I started calling the man names, right in front of my girls - wow, what a role model! Then I said "You know what, I wasn't very nice to him. I'm going to pray that GOd blesses him and then forgives me for being so mean." The girls agreed that it was the thing to do, and prayed with me.

I don't normally have a problem with my mouth - really. I've been reading through James for the past 5 weeks about how your actions and speech should match and guess I'm being tested heavily.. As a song from Great Awakenings says "Let the Words of Your mouth, fill this place" not my mouth.