Holding Hands

I am not a mother, nor a caretaker. I'm not a nanny or even a babysitter. I am, however, a self-proclaimed normal and safety-minded person.

That being said, I cannot believe some of the behavior that I witness on a daily basis in public places - restaurants, stores, banks, etc. - by parents and the kids under their mindful watch. I am not talking about the temper tantrums displayed by young children, although they are sometimes unbelievable, and I truly feel for those parents who are trying to calm and discipline their unruly children in public, in addition to in the privacy of their own home.

I'm talking about the utter disregard that some parents have for the general public, letting their kids run around a store touching everything in sight and breaking things, screaming so loud that glass window panes start to splinter, and haphazardly weaving through innocent bystanders trying to get their weekly groceries. My thoughts are that if you take children out to a public place, you should be mindful of their behavior and their whereabouts. If they can't behave appropriately in public, they probably shouldn't go out in public. Also, if you can't keep a mindful eye on them while out in public, find other arrangements for them. Parents, I beg of you to at least guard their safety while out.

I was in the parking lot of a craft store earlier this month, sitting in my car listening to the end of a song before turning the key and walking inside. As I sat there, I watched a woman in her mid-to-late thirties escort three young children out of the store. If I had to guess, I'd say that the children were aged 2 (boy) and 5 and 6 (girls).
No one was holding the kids' hands, and no one stopped all three kids from walking out into the parking lot in front of an oncoming car. I literally gasped aloud as the white car came within just feet of them all. No one reprimanded the kids for running out into the street, nor did they then grasp hands to safely get to the car. Nothing happened. Nothing.
One of the young girls dropped a empty plastic bottle in the parking lot in front of the car as she was crossing. Thankfully the driver of the white car is the only other sane person in the vicinity and she sat stationary until this nonsensical episode was over.
The responsible adult turned away from the other two youngsters and told the girl to pick up her bottle. Meanwhile, the 2-year-old ran to the family car several spots away. The guardian didn't seem to notice or care. Of course, I cringed. Not only could this young boy have been hurt by a car pulling in or out of a parking spot without seeing him, but some crazy person could have taken him as his mother was at least 40 feet away.
Luckily, they reached their car in one piece but that plastic bottle was never picked up. I just hope that the rest of the Warwick area assisted them to get safely home that day.
I don't remember going out to dinner or to the mall with my parents at an early age. I'm sure for this very reason. I was a brown haired, pig-tailed wearing, freckled maniac with the early stages of a Boston accent. I was a child. I couldn't be trusted.

Splatter Paint

Remember that day I realized it had been months - m-o-n-t-h-s - since I had blogged?

Also, remember the day last week that the bus pulled up to the Park & Ride in the morning and ran over a can of spray paint, shooting the orange contents all over the bus commuters on their way to work in the morning? Yeh, that was awesome.

Remember those paint/pottery places from the late 80s? It's like I brought my foot there.

I'm so glad these shoes only cost me, like, $10.

On the bright side, I'm not the blonde that got a new look to her Michael Kors purse. Yikes.