Shawna Wingert is the mum of two boys with special needs.
The Californian mum and her husband have worked tirelessly so the boys can be as independent as possible through their condition.
Mum is a writer at, Not The Former Things, informing people of the struggles and joy of raising her boys, and giving advice to others in the same condition.
However, on a recent trip to the store, the mum was left reeling from an encounter with a 'gentleman' who berated her son.
Shawna writes: "I almost lost it at Target today, like bad. An older man yelled at my son to get his 'damn dog' out of the way."
The 'damn dog' is in fact her son's service dog, which you can't miss as the black Labrador wears a service dog jacket.
The incident incensed the mum who would normally have a calm exterior: "Sleep deprivation combined with a frustration fuelled rage left me struggling to have any grace at all."
"I moved my son, and his service dog, Sammy, aside and forcefully, with tears already starting to well up, said, 'he is doing the best that he can'."
The stranger in question turned his nose up at the mother and son, walking away.
You can imagine that mum was angry at the situation, but instead of allowing her frustration to get the better of her, she has taken a different approach, something we should all learn from for a more positive outlook.
"I could choose to still be angry. I could choose to stew about how unfair and how hard life can be, I could. But I think I'm going to instead try to think about the other 11 people who smiled at my son, Sammy and I."
"I am going to try and focus on how sweet the Target manager always, always, always is to us when she sees us walk in with Sammy. I am going to remind myself that although the hard parts are easier to remember, the good stuff is far more frequent that I give it credit for."
"It's there, all the time. I just have to remember to look for it."
Amazing advice from this mum when we're faced with difficult and frustrating situations.
