These are random musings of my life journey, the people, animals, places, and events which have woven, and continue to weave, a tapestry that is me. We all know there is no real destination, only the ongoing experiences which blend together, creating the trail. Each step gives a glimpse of what is to come, without allowing me to see the end result. It is exciting. I have a home base that is mine, that gives me a place to rest. This is it. This is where my heart is, no matter where I journey...................

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

I gots sumptin!!


OK, OK, alright, here we go, I've got sumptin to write about!!! Woo hoo, yippee-skippee, and YAY!

This morning I went to have some blood work done. Nothing serious, just routine stuff that I was supposed to do a couple months ago and repeatedly forgot to fast in the evening before the days when I could go in. Well, I finally got my stuff together and went in this morning.

I did it this morning because I go in late on Tuesday since I stay to do the evening bereavement group. I waited until almost 11:00, so I didn't have a lot of time to fill before going to the office, and of course, by 11:00, I was famished. After the lab, I went a few blocks and had breakfast at Denny's. The food was good, and I enjoyed taking my time reading a book, as they weren't busy yet.

I was nearly done with my food, asked for a refill of coffee to enjoy the rest of the chapter, and then it happened.

People were beginning to come in for lunch. A small group with three adults and two children were seated in the booth behind me. I didn't even look, but was peripherally aware of their arrival. Everything was fine until they put the little girl, probably about two years old, into the high chair.

I don't know if she didn't want to be in the high chair, whether she wanted to be held, if she was hungry, or just what, but she began crying. And crying. And shrieking. And crying. The two adult females tried to console her, but didn't pick her up, so she continued to bawl!

Let me assure you, I like kids. I really do! But I'm not used to being around little ones, and when this wailing was going on just about three feet from my ear, I was becoming more and more rattled. I was unable to focus on the words of my book. I eventually just left with half the coffee in the cup.

As I paid I was asked if everything was alright. I responded that the food and service was fine, but the crying child drove me out before I wanted to leave. The woman commiserated with me (more on that converssation in a moment) and then comped half of my meal. That helped, but the jangling of my nerves was a done deal.

The conversation we had at the cash register was about how we both wished the young mother had handled the situation. We agreed that when we were young and one of our children began crying, we picked up the child and walked outside or to a lobby or something of the sort to soothe the child and to avoid irritating people who were eating or trying to talk, etc. Children will cry! But I never felt I .... or my child .... has license to disrupt the pleasure of others.

I've seen this happen often, people of all ages interject their own agendas on others in public settings, talking unnecessarily loud; allowing children to run amok, bumping into people or nearly tripping them, handling merchandise in stores, etc.; playing car radios horribly loud; on and on.

Every person has a right to be in these public places. That baby girl and her family had as much right as I. But the assumed license to put your needs over mine (or mine over yours) just isn't OK in my estimation.

So .... where do you stand?


To end on a pleasant note, tonight as I arrived home, there was a beautiful double rainbow .....





Yeah, it's all good.  :)

7 comments:

  1. This may be the second posting of this comment.

    I think the mother should have taken the baby out.

    We all had our tour of duty as parents. We paid baby sitters so we could go out occasionally. We should not have to be disturbed by someone else's crying baby!

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  2. Everyone's individual rights are the most important! We have the media allowing some attorney to tell them that every day on the television and to help them get money if they feel someone has taken any of those rights away from them....

    I could go on, but you get how I feel about the issue! There is no end in sight.

    It was great they comped you!

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  3. I totally agree that kids shouldn't be allowed to run amok. But if you try to entertain the kid yourself you risk a parent getting rude and acting like you're trying to steal it. I would probably have tried to entertain the child a bit though, despite that, if possible. It's really unpleasant having a child cry.

    Of course I like to think I was always considerate! But when my kids were screechy (and happy) I was used to them making a noise. It would probably bug me now if I heard it.

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  4. I am with you. Our 2 boys were usually well behaved, but I spent my share of time walking them outside while others were in a restaurant.

    Little ones can't always tell you what is wrong. We took them out of the area until order was restored. Sometimes that meant I kept the unhappy one away and engaged until my husband took over and I could rejoin our group to finish my meal.

    The other thing I can't understand is parents keep bellowing threats of punishment as the kids keep disobeying. Whatever happened to parents' keeping their children with them in public places where they can quietly stop the misbehavior. It is not just courteous, it is also safer for the kids.Guess you can tell I have a number of pet peeves stored up. Oh, and parents whoinflict nonstop profanity and crude language ob their children and everyone else within hearing distance!

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  5. Coincidentally, we had a similar incident happen to us at church this past weekend. A young boy in the pew ahead of us acted up pretty much through the whole mass. During the "handshake of peace", the mother apologized to us both. He wasn't THAT bad, but both Wendy and I wondered why they didn't just take him to the cry room, since that's what that room is for.

    I do remember suffering through more than one similar episode with our own youngest who at times could NOT be consoled for whatever reason (once aboard an airliner; can't very well take him outside then). Eventually I found the best advice was to be very clear ahead of time what our expectations were for his behavior. An ounce of prevention . . .

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  6. They should have tried too console the child or take the child out but offer some sort of comfort. It wasnt all that long ago that my children were that age and we took them out and taught them how to behave in stores. Bobbie

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  7. The young mother should definitely have taken the child outside to bring a calming influence on the child. A friend was talking to me about the problems caused by noising toddlers running around and jumping in church. I wonder why it is that parents nowadays seem to give in too easily.

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If you have something to say about it, just stick out your thumb, and I'll slow down so you can hop aboard! But hang on, 'cause I'm movin' on down the road!!! No time to waste!!!