You know how there are some days you wish you could do over since you know you’d do them differently and better?
Yeah. Yesterday wasn’t one of those.
Yesterday was one of those you hope you never have to do again. Ever.
Mondays are gymnastic days for Cara and we got up and out in plenty of time. We made a run by the gas station since Cara has decided she must have a bottle of water to take with her to “the gym” and the 360 controller needed new AA batteries. [USB enabled charging on 360 controllers–like on the PS3–would be super handy. Just sayin’.]
And we were late. Granted, we were four minutes late but those four minutes felt like four years.
By the time we pulled into the parking lot, I had Cara wiggled out of her pants, boots and shirt and running into the gym. I did put the SUV into park. Give me a tiny bit of credit.
I had my phone and Tucker had been kind enough to leave his iPad so we were set! What you need to understand is in the “Observation Room” there is nothing to do. Even the parents get bored. Ollie isn’t the only small dude up there and you can almost see the kids crawling out of their tiny skins.
Like this but a lot more disturbing:
Ollie and I were golden for the majority of the class, hence the annoyed yet laid back update on Google Plus. Ollie was doing his thing. I was looking at random stuff on my phone. Life wasn’t necessarily GOOD since the couches in the Observation Room have an odd odor to them but things weren’t BAD.
And then it was time to go. I should have never updated Google Plus.
RIGHT AFTER I posted that to Google Plus, I started putting stuff in my bag and I warned Ollie a couple of times as I went that it was time for us to go. The little dude next to Ollie was getting ready to go downstairs so it’s not like this was some kind of OH MAH GAWD!!! moment or anything.
I get everything but Ollie and the iPad ready to go and tell him, “Come on, yo. We have to go meet your sister.” I held out my hand for the iPad and he looked up at me and kicked me with the end of his shoe.
“NO! You stay here!”
Um…the fuck you say?
And I gave him a couple of more time to goes and I have to put that ups and you get the idea.
Finally it was 1600 and Cara’s class was officially over and I was getting pissed.
I gave him one more shot and when Ollie acted like a little butthole rude child, I plucked the iPad out of his hands, secured the iPad in my bag and help out my hand to help Ollie up off of the oddly fragranced couch.
Well, THAT didn’t go well.
Think this:
After several minutes of him screeching like…um…a screecher I was still waiting on him to uncrumple himself. By this time, the next round of moms and dads and such had made their way into the Observation Room and this one mom…OK. Hold on. Backstory required here. Bear with me, y’all.
Several weeks ago, I was downstairs waiting on Cara to get out of class and I was holding Ollie and doing the “Mom dance” and this woman put her hand on my shoulder on says, “I know this is weird, but do you mind if I pet his back?” She was just so nice looking and comforting that I didn’t even think twice. “Go ahead,” I said. “I’ll even give you a good price for him” We both laughed and Ollie just smiled at her and that was that.
It was THAT mom who put her stuff down next to the fit-throwing Ollie and she looked at me and bless her, she didn’t have to say this but she did: Don’t you dare be embarrassed. We’ve all been there.
When’s the last time you saw a kid losing his shit at a store or wherever and you didn’t give the parent a nasty look and INSTEAD you did the super cool thing of letting the other parent know they weren’t alone?
Not only did that mom do that–I really need to get her name.–but three other moms did the exact same thing.
“We’ve all been there.” [eye roll]
“Been there. Done that.” [smirk]
“Gotta love a toddler.” [smile]
It took me over twenty minutes to finally get Oliver to the car and even after I had him in his seat, he still kicked at me and tried to bite me and generally wigged out.
Not once was I embarrasses. Annoyed? Oh yeah. Pissed? That too. Exasperated. In spades, y’all. But that mom being so damn cool as to say a kind word when another woman’s kid is losing his shit? That’s awesome.
That’s what more people should do.
Even when the other person’s kid is being an ass. Cause, know what? Everyone’s kid is an ass at some point and everyone has had that moment when they’d sooner crawl under a rock than have to calmly deal with a tiny human bent on world domination.
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