Gracious Mama Bear

Have you ever had somebody come up to you to admire your baby and then reach out to tickle him or pat him or poke him and what have you? I have. I suppose most mothers of absolutely adorable babies deal with this situation as I do on a regular basis. In the grand scheme of things, I realize it's really not that big of a deal if a total stranger touches my baby, but I have to cringe every time their hands reach for Ben. It's the germs. Can you blame me? Usually I can smile and move on, but the other day I could not. We were at the store and Ben needed a little diaper change so we headed to the restroom. After I finished up I gathered our things and we were greeted by an employee who had just exited a restroom stall. She thought Ben was cute, obviously, and said hello to him and coochy-cooed and all of that. No problem. Then she lifted her hand and reached out to touch him. Yes, the employee that used the restroom and had not yet washed her hands was going to touch my baby. GrrrrrrrrrrrRooooooaaaarrrrrrrr! My mama bear instincts kicked in and I quickly pulled Benjamin out of her germy reach and retreated through the door, a fake smile on my face (at least I was trying to smile -may have been more like a grimace). Ewwwwww! Who does that??? Would it be so difficult for people to stop and think about what they are doing so as not to upset, or offend, or anger, or infect others??? Oh I was steaming. Of course I recounted the entire episode to my husband and in-laws in a huff. I am over the incident now and have had time to think about my reaction to the situation. While I am entitled to protect my baby, and responsible for doing so, I am also called to show grace to others. How many times have I done something, big or small, that has offended or upset somebody else? How many times have I been unaware of my offenses because others have shown grace to me rather than striking back? Yes, there is a time for correction and it's good to keep strangers' toilet hands away from Benjamin's face, but there is always room for grace in all of my actions and reactions. So I'll try to work on my mama bear reactions, of which there seem to be quite a few. But I'm still going to keep the disinfectant handy.