Through the eyes of a child…

This is a story that happened when my daughter, Julia, was about 4 years old.

She was the “typical little girl” that everyone thinks of at that age.

She was into princesses.

She owned little “dress up” dresses that had sequence and she had little mini “dress up” bride gowns.

She even had a few Disney princess costumes that she wore quite often.

She loved to wear those velour “hand-me-down” dresses with the puffy shoulders and the lace bib in the front. Those dresses were her favorite school attire.

She liked shiny shoes. She had several pair.

Julia took dance classes and was truly a “dainty little flower”…

So.. One day… I was driving her to preschool.

I had a minivan.

Julia was sitting in the back seat and she was strapped into her car seat.

We came to a red light just about 1 block from her preschool. The light had JUST turned red; So, I planned to sit there a while…

I have to note that this particular intersection has a few churches surrounding it.

Many of these churches loan or rent out their basements for helpful causes.

Causes for…..alcoholics anonymous, drug addiction meetings, and food pantries….

Well, picture Julia in the back seat of the minivan…All dressed for school and innocently looking out the window ..

Picture me with the my hands on the steering wheel just waiting at the red light..Most likely running late ….

I was probably playing some sort of nursery rhyme CD for Julia to listen to on the way to school….. All innocent preschool morning time stuff….

The light stayed red for what seemed to be a long time.

While sitting there idle in the minivan…I instantly noticed a woman get out of a car.. Someone dropped her off at a corner. ……I couldn’t help but notice her. She definitely stood out…

She looked to be about 6 feet tall… Tall and statuesque .. If you could picture a similar look of Julia Roberts in “pretty woman” when she was wearing that short dress and the knee high boots.

This particular woman I saw had on a very short, skin-tight, skirt, and high heeled, thigh-high boots.

She wore a huge, rimmed hat and a fancy boa around her neck. She walked a fancy walk.. A walk that drew that extra attention.

My instant thought was that she was a “woman of the evening”….

She was headed toward one of those churches for a meeting in the basement.. I saw her walk straight towards the church entrance.

I was also wondering something, at this moment……Wondering what direction Julia’s little face was staring….Did she see this woman? If so, will Julia speak out loud as to what she was seeing at that moment…?

Well, It didn’t take long …

I heard… “MOM !,,,,, Did you just see that woman?” All in a very dramatic voice….

I replied back ” You mean the one who was wearing a big hat?” (Sort of in a soft tone..downplaying it.)…All the while…making an odd face….in anticipation of her response…She couldn’t see this look on my face as I was driving in the seat directly in front of her….

Julia went on to say… “Yes……Her !!!”

Suddenly, there is a deep gasp that comes from Julia… One of excitement …. and then she said….

” ……She …… Looks…….. BEAUooooTIFUL…..”

….As sincere as anything I had ever heard her say.

At that moment, I realized a few things..

1. The brain of a 4 year old is so pure and innocent… Made me feel guilty for what judgment I had against this woman’s outfit..

And 2.  What Julia just said reiterated to me what her personality truly was.. and still is..

Julia is so non judgmental and sweet and sees the good in ALL people…

When that light turned green…. and I put my foot on that gas pedal…I knew this was a story to keep in my “story vault” forever…

Sweet Julia…Always sweet and positive…

My reply back to Julia was….”You know what, Julia?…You’re right….She DOES look beautiful !”…..

..I often think of this story and of Julia’s wonderful attitude and accepting personality when my mind starts to wander into “judgy-ville”…