a mother's frustration

This is a first for me, and it will hopefully be a last. I'm writing today to vent an experience I just had as a mother...it was suffocating and more frustrating than maybe anything I've ever experienced.

It is by far the most frustrating thing in the world to me when a complete stranger feels the liberty to tell me how to take care of my daughter, or better...to tell me that I am not doing a good job taking care of her. Here's the story...

Ellie and I went on a walk (2 blocks away) to pick up a prescription at Walgreens. A lady who was driving by decided to yell and curse at me because Ellie didn't have shoes on. "It's cold as hell," she said. She continued to say that I should go home and put some shoes on her (with several other words that I will choose not to include). This continued for a few minutes while she was stopped in traffic. I can honestly say that I have never in my life wanted to hurt someone, or yell at them in response to something. That's not my nature. Today, I did. I actually told her to shut up! I mean, seriously, it's in the 70's today, and the sun is hot. Ellie hates more than anything else having something on her feet. She had pants and long sleeves on. Unless it's necessary (and today, it wasn't) I'm not putting shoes on her. It took everything I had to not go put a note on her car saying "In case you didn't know, hell is not cold. And you know nothing about me or my daughter."

Is it wrong to defend my daughter? and to defend my parenting skills? Ellie is my life. Besides my husband, there is nothing on this earth that is more important to me than her. How a complete stranger can judge be based on the fact that she didn't have shoes on, and she thinks 75 degrees is "cold as hell," I'm unsure.

I'm sorry she thinks it's cold outside. That's not my fault.