"You sure have your hands full!" I see a passerby smile at me. I don't know about you, but I don't take this as the most positive comment. Not quite negative, but not exactly what I want to hear when I'm trying to make an educated guess on which pasta shape my children might eat this week while trying to keep said children in the cart without touching each other. And although this comment is common and harmless and it has never affected me past slight annoyance, it sure makes me think about my hands being full. Literally and figuratively. As I respond with the basic "I sure do!", countless images fly into my head.
My hands full of grocery bags filled with different shaped noodles and such.
My hands full of freshly cleaned laundry.
My hands full of cleaning supplies or paint brushes or tools to fix random objects (like a loose screw, let's not get carried away).
My hands full of goldfish, smooshed granola bars, and random used-to-be edible items.
My hands full of plastic doctor instruments to check each sick stuffed animal.
My hands full of dozens of papers that have drawings of different family members and friends. BTW we've evolved from smiling blobs into heads with arms and legs into legit people with all fingers and toes accounted for!
The images turn into deeper thoughts and memories.
My hands full of scraped knees and magic kisses, angry words and make-up hugs, stair time-outs and sweet "sorry"s.
My hands full of little hands one moment and little sleeping bodies the next.
My hands full of tiny humans growing at warp speed, in height and knowledge, while navigating the world and feeling all the feels.
The thoughts and memories come to a rest on the cliche saying, "If you think my hands are full then you should see my heart". Seriously, I don't know how my heart has not exploded from the pride and love I feel for my children, but somehow it continues to expand and fill more and more every day, all thanks to my hands being SO very full.
If only I could say all of that in the time between deciding on penne, promising a slushy for just staying in the cart (PLEASE!!!), and the passerby passing by, I would. But once the few seconds (or minutes) of chaos settles, I can only hope the comment was made because their hands are just as full of countless blessings, filling their hearts even more.
