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B.C. mom urges patience after rude comments while out with toddlers

People asked to be better and to help each other
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Stacey and Tammy Chomiak are asking people to help each other. (Contributed)

People can do better.

And instead of making life difficult for each other, people have the option of helping each other out. Maple Ridge resident Stacey Chomiak is trying to get out that message after her wife and kids were the objects of a some verbal barbs recently. Tammy Chomiak was at a downtown Maple Ridge coffee shop when a stranger asked why she would bring her kids there. In her Facebook post, Stacey said the two kids were loud, but said the comments was upsetting.

“Friends, we can do better. We are all a little (lot) tired and sad and maybe just plain angry with the state of the world right now,” Stacey said on Facebook. “But we can do better,” she adds.

And last Thursday, Tammy was in a thrift store with her kids when she heard similar comments and a another woman asked her why she would bring the stroller and her two kids into the store.

Tammy was just taking her kids on an outing, explained Stacey. But going anywhere with small kids isn’t easy. Many parents today are exhausted, trying to juggle busy lives, adding that harsh comments from others are discouraging.

Such comments could result from people expecting everything to be comfortable and not to be inconvenienced. “I just think we don’t live alone in this world and it’s not always going to be the most convenient or the most comfortable. If you make someone happy, then all of a sudden you feel happy and then that spreads. Whereas, negativity also spreads really fast,” Stacey said. She just wants people to take the other way.

“Sometimes, it only takes a mildly annoyed comment to plummet someone into depression, or just plain, ruin the rest of their day. Don’t be the straw that breaks someone’s back. I refuse to be,” Stacey said. She added her comments are not directed towards Maple Ridge but everywhere.

She asking people to smile more, to be encouraging, to ask either how they are and care a bit.

“Waiting for your coffee, passing people on the street, around your co-workers … just do better. Smile more. Encourage people.

“Every interaction, big or small, makes a difference. Every one,” she said.



pmelnychuk@mapleridgenews.com

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