Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Reminders Received at a Target Starbucks

Today started out full of promise but quickly took a turn. I became irritable, grumpy, and didn't want to be bothered. I needed a break. Just an hour or so. Luckily Collin was working from home this morning so I was able to take off.

I headed to a Starbucks that is located in our newly opened Target. I grabbed my tall vanilla latte and got cozy at a corner table.

A mom walked in with two toddlers. They were all smiling and chatting with each other. It appeared she was treating them to something special. The little girls were so excited. Their time together was full of promise but it quickly took a turn. Within 3 minutes of receiving their drinks, two of the drinks ended up on the floor. A minute later, one of the replacement drinks spilled all over one of the girls. The mom was clearly frustrated and disappointed. Little did she know, I needed to witness her mishap. I needed to be reminded that I am not the only one who tries and sometimes things don't quite go as planned.

Lady at Starbucks...I hope your day is going better. Mine is.

Sometimes when my days start out with promise, they quickly take turns because of the boys' behavior and my laziness to not want to deal with it at the moment.

After the lady gathered up her milk covered girls and left, in walked another mother with her kids and a girlfriend. As soon as I saw the kid, I knew it was his voice I had been hearing echo through the store..."Mom, I want this ball! Mom, I want this ball! MOM!!!! Mom, I said I want this ball! Mom, buy me this ball!" I could go on about the fireman's hat, the bag of chips, and the pencils he also wanted, but I think you get the picture. It was clear the women were there to chat and it was also clear the kid was not going to allow that to happen...AT ALL. I have never in my life watched a kid interrupt an adult, demand something from them, and the adult cater to that child so much as I did those 5 minutes. It was unreal. The one time the mother said no, she was met with fists and a bite to the leg. It worked...the child received the strawberry/banana smoothie he wanted. I could go on about the displays he knocked over, the handful of straws he wasted, and the shaker full of sugar he dumped out on the counter while his mother very gently said, "no, no" but I won't. Little did she know, I needed to witness her unruly child and her lack of discipline. I needed to be reminded that I am a good mom and that I have great kids.

Lady at Starbucks...I hope you learn to become a parent. Kid at Starbucks...I hope you receive the discipline you need. Lady's friend at Starbucks...I'm sorry.

Edited to add...I know there could be a number of reasons for that child's behavior (medications, emotional, mental, ect.) but I used he and his mother as an example because the lack of discipline was clearly evident.

1 comment:

Just some guy... said...

Hang in there, baby. You're doing great! And so are your little kiddos.