Patricia Larkin was loading up on blueberry yogurt at an Aldi in Lacey, New Jersey, when she noticed a woman watching her.
“I was wearing my 8-week-old daughter in a carrier and she made a comment like, ‘Mom life, huh?’” Larkin told TODAY Parents. “I smiled. I didn't think anything of it."
The elementary school teacher shared what happened next in a now-viral post on the Lacey Township Chatter Facebook page.
“Well, I don’t usually do ‘To the person who…’ posts, but this one has me cracking up, so here we go,” Larkin wrote. "To the lady who told the cashier at Aldi that she thought I had a fake baby and was trying to smuggle yogurts out of the store 1) My baby is 100% real. 2 Yogurts are like $.25 at Aldi. 3. I’m lactose intolerant and don’t consume any dairy at all.”
Larkin thanked the stranger for the laugh, adding, “I really needed it because I was up all night tending to my (again, 100% real) baby.”
The accuser saw the post and responded.
“It was me and I am not ashamed to say so. The baby was sleeping the entire time and was like a dead weight in her arms,” wrote a woman named Aileen Krupa. Krupa noted that she works in retail and shoplifters often use children as decoys. She also noted she will continue reporting suspicious activity.
Larkin replied by pointing out that Eliana was crying and moving around throughout the Aldi excursion.
“I feel bad because people are ganging up on the woman on Facebook,” Larkin told TODAY Parents. “That was not my intention. I just wanted to share a funny thing that happened to me. I’m still laughing about it.”