My constant thought is always ‘you never know what someone is going through’. While it was nice sharing smiles with other people while they watched my child run off with a cardigan in Target while I cursed myself for not taking the pram, I realised how much anxiety I’ve been building up about just going out in public with her. I have a beautiful 10 year old son with a severe intellectual impairment and have not been able to be with him on my own since he was about my daughter’s age. So, as they do, those muscles become weaker and I realised how much I’d been shying away from leaving the house at all with her. My nerves and confidence haven’t been ready and little errands always ended up in the too hard basket. While the aircon ended up being a tad too warm at the shops and my enthusiasm for wearing a jumper already in Brisbane was a smidge premature, I know I was feeling overwhelmed and super nervous. I was wondering if it was obvious how flustered I was when I got to the checkout and realised it was all self service and I had to hold on to this mini human and juggle through. I wondered how I much of a novice at ‘shopping with a child’ I must have looked like despite said kid being old enough for a hundred trips. And while I realistically don’t care in my brain about what other people think, my heart still clearly did. But, as I’m continually being reminded, nothing ends up being how you predict in your head. So, while my heart rate may have spiked a few times and I should have packed a snack for myself (I get hangrier than most kids, I think!), all I really need was reminding that I was doing ok. The smirks from a few strangers reassured me as I redirected my friendly buddy away from saying ‘hello peoples’ to every mannequin, but what made me realise I hadn’t given myself enough credit? A little voice that chortled, ‘we did ittttttt!’ as I pulled the receipt from the machine and walked out of Target. We all do need that small reality check that we’re doing better than we think. And, a little voice that reminds you to celebrate the small things ‘cos they’re often pretty big ones. Hope you have a lovely week. Celebrate something small for me x