Confession #2

This past weekend I went to the lovely city of Charlottesville, VA. I have some observations/recommendations for you mothers out there that cannot live with out your gigantic SUV Sized strollers. The next time you take these monstrosities out in public, please note that there are other people that you may come into contact with & that they have equal right to the sidewalk as you & your HUGE stroller that holds your tiny child! Next time just make a little note to self: If someone is walking in the farmer's market & you are about to leave the vendor you have just visited, maybe you should take a gander at the passersby before you fling your child carrier into the throng of people to make sure you don't run over someone's feet! Or turn on your blinker & signal before turning into on-coming pedestrians. Don't just abruptly stop in the middle of the VERY crowded aisle to adjust something. You wouldn't do this with your actual SUV, so don't do it with your BABY CARRIER! If you can manage to do that, then I say Thank You from the rest of society that doesn't happen to be part of the soccer mom society.

Now I do have a pleasant observation from this weekend. It was very nice to see parents stop when they came across the live music that was at the downtown mall & take their children out of the strollers to let them dance to the beat (well the beat in that kids head at least) & get some energy out. That is all part of the atmosphere & charm of the mall in Charlottesville.

If only the mother of the kid in my next story had done that! My last stop in Charlottesville was Chandler's Bakery. I had heard how good the cakes were from my sister-in-law, Carlita, so it was a must stop. The goodies did not disappoint! I did almost leave midway through my order due to one little kid. How annoying can a kid be? Oh I don't know. Imagine this scenario: there is a little kid (about 3-4) in the bakery saying over & over in as whiny of a voice as a kid (that isn't yours) can have: "Mommy, I want the dinosaur cookie, I want the dinosaur cookie, I want the dinosaur cookie, ..." I was about to say, kid you if you don't shut up, I will buy all of the cookies, dinosaur or not & then you wont get any at all! Sure this makes me sound like the shrew wife of Scrooge on Christmas eve to little Timmy, but Lady get a hold of your kid, or at the very least acknowledge that your child needs some type of attention. How hard is it to take 5 seconds to day "yes Timmy, you will get the cookie, but you have to behave or there will be consequences, like this lovely lady over here may decide to buy all of the cookies. Mommies, take the curtsey to the rest of the patrons in which ever shop you are in to let your child know that you hear them & acknowledge their needs & wants, thus letting EVERYONE ELSE know that you have enough respect for them not to reduce their day to memories of your child's retched screams. If you can manage to do this common curtsey, the rest of mankind will forever be thankful to you, in addition to having the most difficult & important job on earth & blah blah blah.

Until next time...