I was at a cafe yesterday having lunch with my mom. As usual, we were having a very pleasant conversation when suddenly, we heard that one single noise that can quiet an entire room - and it did. Thud! The little girl sitting behind us (who was constantly going up, down, up, down, on her chair, off her chair, on, off, on, off...) missed the edge of her seat when she went to sit down, and she crashed onto the tile floor below. I saw it in slow motion. Feet, back, bottom, head, whack! Those of us sitting near their table instantly hushed. My hand flew over my open mouth. Together, we waited for the cry. And fortunately, it came. The precious little girl with curly blonde hair lied on the ground, staring up at her mom with big, teary eyes. Her mom, who, first of all (in my opinion) should have told her daughter to keep her hiney on the chair, slowly picked her up as though this was a common, everyday occurence. Or maybe she's just one of those mom's who doesn't freak out over a near-cracked head. Either way, you may have noticed that my title is "nosey people," and you're probably wondering why.
So, when everyone decided that it was okay to stop staring and start talking again (softly, slowly), my mom said, "She didn't hit her head that hard, because she's crying. That's always a good sign. It's when the kid isn't crying that you have to worry."
Me (totally distracted): "What?"
Mom (starting over, repeating herself): "She didn't hit her head that..."
The Annoying Lady at the table next to us: "Yes, she did."
Mom (looking at her, annoyed): "What?"
Annoying Lady: "She did hit her head."
Mom (totally annoyed and suddenly wondering how this woman entered our conversation): "I was talking to my daughter. I didn't say she didn't hit her head. I said she didn't hit her head that hard."
I guess she would have known that if she was fully listening. Instead, she heard what she wanted to hear and chimed in mid-sentence. How irritating! But not surprising. This is the same lady, who, just minutes before that, made a comment to me about Baby Boy. I was holding him, enjoying watching him look around at all the people. Baby Boy had missed his nap because there was just too much activity going on, so he was pretty sleepy. The same Annoying Lady said to me, "he's really tired." But, it wasn't in a tone that said, "oh, he's so cute, and he looks so sleepy." It was more of a tone like, "you're a bad mom for having him out and about when he's so tired." It was just that sort of sarcastic, judgemental tone that you don't want to hear from a complete stranger (or anyone else for that matter!). I'll stop complaining about the Annoying Lady. She was just annoying...I guess there are worse things.
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Okay, that lady was totally annoying. On a different note, in defense of the little girl's mother, maybe she DID tell tell her to sit down. Maybe she told her several times to sit down (like before you guys got there or even if you didn't hear her because you were getting your little guy out of his carrier or something).
ReplyDeleteCase in point: Do you know how many times I told my son not to stand on the couch? Approximately 2,876,442. So one morning, he's standing on the couch, somehow loses his balance, and bonks his head, HARD, on the coffee table. Now, I've never seen a real goose egg, but he had a HUGE bump on his head. We took him to the ER just in case. (As I write this, he is climbing onto the back of the couch. I am saying, "Are you supposed to be up there?" and he is saying, "Nope!") Anyway, he was fine.
I read this article once that toddlers don't have foresight. So you can say, "It's cold outside, let's put a jacket on you," and your kid will refuse. He will get outside and be cold, and then he'll remember you said he should get a jacket. And he'll go back in for the jacket.
So, maybe this mom was thinking, I just told my daughter for the 2,876,442nd time to sit down. Let's see what happens if I don't tell her the 2,876,443rd time. And the daughter fell. And the mom thought, well, let's see how she likes that.
Not that she wanted her kid to get hurt, but sometimes the only way they'll listen is if they actually do fall -- the whole no-foresight thing. And sometimes that doesn't even make them listen -- my kid, as I noted above, still climbs the couch.
Point taken.
ReplyDeleteWe all need reminders not to judge too quickly : )
I can't believe he went to the ER...I'm SO glad he was okay!