As I wandered around K-Mart looking for the right sized ruby slipper for Scrunch, an employee asked me how my week was going. I had no idea what to say so I said, "Fine, thank you." What was I supposed to say?

"Actually it totally sucked. I took the kids to Costco by myself, which I mean... who doesn't loooove a trip to Costco with the kids? So, while we were there my daughter slipped on the food court bench and caught herself with her face. We spent the afternoon at Urgent Care getting five stitches. By the time we got home her brother had an asthma attack and we were up the next three nights with the croup. My littlest one tripped on the patio and has a black eye. I look and feel like a total winner mom right about now. I was pregnant and now I'm not anymore, but I still feel like total crap. But I'm not homeless, unemployed, and at least I have a working anus. How was your week?"

I have so much more compassion for the random K-Mart stranger. You just have no idea what is really going on in someone's life. Every day I vacillate between counting my blessings and wanting to pull the covers over my head and wait for someone else to take over my life, or at least mop my kitchen. Gosh, why does it have to be so damn hard? (Rhetorical question, by the way.)

"Be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle." -John Watson