Despite my protest, I had to go to Walmart this morning. The simple fact is, they have the best prices on certain drinks that the girls use for their school lunches.

We had a sort of “plot this” this morning. Gracie wanted to come with me, but Sofia did not. According to Sofia “I cannot go, Mom, I am in training for Girls on the Run and I need my rest.” What she really means is “I want to play the game without Gracie interrupting me.”

I figured it would be a good chance for Gracie and me to spend some one on one time together. Gracie very rarely goes anywhere without either Sofia or Vinnie. In a way, they are her security blanket. This was a huge step for her.

First, we hit up Chick-Fil-A and stocked up on some grilled chicken nuggets. Gracie and I are now on the same Keto diet. She is on it to keep seizures away, I am on it for weight loss.

After our grilled nuggets, off to Walmart, we went.

Now let me explain something. Gracie tends to walk behind me wherever we go. Not too far behind, just a couple feet. She walks and fidgets with her hands. It’s a coping mechanism for her and a total autism thing. I have trained myself to follow her shadow, to listen closely to her necklaces dangling, and of course, I physically turn around to make sure she is there. If we happen to pass a group of men, I do not care what they look like, three-piece suits or sagging pants, you bet my ass I will turn around to make sure nothing is said.

As we are walking the aisles of Walmart, this time is no different,  she is always about three feet behind. I was able to grab Gracie some short sleeve polos for school. We grabbed the special drinks that I can only find at Walmart for a decent price, picked up some odds and ends.

On our way to the checkout stand, Gracie and I stop a look at the large display of fans that were on an end cap. This end cap was in the area directly across from the registers. Plenty of walking room. As we are looking at the fans, I pulled my cart to the side, making sure it is out of the way. Gracie is still about three feet behind. When I stop, she stops. When I walk, she walks. I am debating if I should buy a fan now, or wait for the one week in Summer where we hit 90 degrees.

As we are looking at the fans, I notice this washed up looking middle age borderline morbidly obese wannabe “Biker Chick” walk past Gracie. She was wearing a sleeveless Lynard Skynard black concert t-shirt, and “Mom Shorts.” As she walks past Gracie, I hear her say “How stupid can you be, yeah stop in the middle of the aisle.”

You guys, something just snapped in me. Quickly, I turned around.

“Ya know, instead of pretending to mumble under your breath, a simple “excuse me” would suffice!”

The washed up middle aged Biker Chick stops in her tracks. She looks at me, I return her evil gaze and raise her a smart ass comment. “Yeah, I have heard it works well.” She takes a step towards me. I see her step and raise her a “What, do you have something to say?”

She takes her cart, turns around and mumbles “Why should I say excuse me when….”

I did not hear her final words.

People are looking at me. As soon as I make eye contact with them, they turn around and carry on with their business. Gracie is still standing there, fidgeting with her hands.

I calm myself down, turn to Gracie “Okay, you ready to pay for our items?”

Gracie throws up her hands “What the heck just happened?”

Now, what I wanted to say is “Well, you just had your first encounter with an entitled Bitch.”

However, what I said instead was “The lady was rude, and I used my voice.”

Well, I was not done yet. Instead of going directly to the cashier, I wanted to find this woman. I wanted to have a word with her one on one. I wanted to tell her “You threw a little hissy fit in front of my autistic daughter. Do you even know what it took for her to come out today without any of her siblings?”

I looked for her. Gracie had no idea I was looking for her but I did. It’s probably best I did not find her, because, between you and I, I was still mad.

With all that being said, let me put this out there. I know sometimes shopping, specifically at Walmart, can be anything but relaxing. You will encounter quite the diverse crowd. What I need some people to understand is that many many times, there is more going on behind the scenes.

Be kind.

Just be kind.