Gag Me

Yesterday I was getting ready to go to dinner with a friend and the kids were kind of fussy so I asked them if they wanted a snack. Jackson gave me a blank stare and Eliza asked for a cheese stick. So I ended up giving them both a cheese stick. Eliza gobbled hers down quickly and Jackson wasn’t too far behind, however, he decided that he didn’t want the last bit of his so after he had chewed it up he smiled as it rolled out of his mouth onto the floor. Eliza was standing right by him so I asked her to pick it up and toss it in the trash for me. She didn’t hesitate, she bent over pick it up and immediately began to gag. At first I thought she was teasing, but I quickly figured out that her gag was going to turn into so much more. I rushed her to the bathroom (thinking of my brand new carpets the whole way…lol) and she finished the throw up there. (my carpets were wounded a bit) She finished by telling me that Jackson’s cheese was gross.

I’ve never seen Eliza gag before. In fact, I’ve always thought she had a pretty strong stomach and she likes quite a bit of weird foods. So I was still in a bit of shock as I walked out the door to dinner.

The more I thought about the incident the weirder it seemed. As I contemplated this isolated incident of weirdness it made my mind wander (shocking) to the world as a whole. The phrase “gag me” is one that I have used in the past. Usually I am referring to the sight of something in public that is inappropriate such as an outfit that doesn’t suit a person or some inappropriate displays of affection. Most of the time I just mumbled the “gag me” phrase under my breath, maybe just loud enough for those around me to hear and understand what I am referring to. Those who know me well know that I observe everything and I have a pretty strong opinion on what is acceptable and what’s not.

So the more I thought about how I use “gag me” the more I thought that maybe the words are not enough. Maybe what I need to be doing is not only setting a good example but speaking up when something truly is gag-gable. It’s easy to walk by something and judge and make a snide comment. It’s a lot harder to either keep my snide comment to myself, or say something to the person that’s offending me. Maybe it’s time that I try to spread God’s love by trying to rid the world of gag-able offenses. Maybe all the PDA couple needs is someone to politely tell them to knock it off? Or maybe I just need to keep my mouth shut? Whatever it is I decide to do from now on I’m going to try to be proactive. I’m going to try to spread God’s love and not my own judgment. Maybe we can rid the world of gag-gable offenses together!