While I Was Buying Cat Food

on January 14, 2013 20 Comments

In parenting, it’s important to pick your battles, or so they say. Of course, they don’t tell you how to pick them, but that’s another story. In spite of the lack of direction, I’ve found that, over time, I’ve developed a better sense of when to stand my ground and when to let things slide. Sometimes, though, it seems that the people around me disagree with my assessment. For a case in point, consider my tale of a recent trip to buy cat food.

The pet food store is, thankfully, only a few blocks from my house. Given its proximity, my habit is to stop in when I’m already out and about. Making such a short car trip feels sort of ridiculous on the one hand, but on the other I’m not up to carrying a 40 pound bag of kitty litter home in my arms. Since I stop in when I’m out running other errands, I often have my children with me. This is more challenging than you might imagine, as my four-year-old Jacob has a serious love for cat toys, and dragging him away from them is often not easy. I put my game face on and soldier through as best I can, though, because that’s the sort of thing that parents do.

Pick Your Battles Buying Cat Food Children Siblings

Sometimes my children get along beautifully

On a recent occasion, Jacob was engrossed with looking at the cat toys and there was a small line at the counter to pay. The cat toy aisle is actually all of four feet away from the cash register, on the other side of a low shelving unit. Jacob wasn’t doing any harm to the toys, and could easily hear him. I decided to pay before I dragged him from the store, to save the pain of having to try to keep him still and quiet in line. For the most part, this tactic worked. I could hear him quietly chatting away to himself, exclaiming over all the little mice and balls and whatnot.

As I neared the front of the line, I started to feel that antsy feeling that you feel when you haven’t seen your kid for a while. Since the wait was pretty much over, I decided to ask my seven-year-old Hannah to go fetch her younger brother. She immediately walked over to the cat toy aisle, and then they both went silent for a minute or two. When they appeared around the end of the shelving unit Jacob was lying on his back, silent, still and expressionless, while his big sister dragged him across the smooth tile floor. The nylon shell of his jacket made him particularly slippery, so she wasn’t having to work too hard.

Now, when I asked Hannah to fetch her brother, this wasn’t the picture I had in my head. I had imagined that they would both walk back to me under their own steam. However, since neither of them were in any sort of distress, and since they weren’t causing a serious disruption, I kind of rolled my eyes as I handed my credit card over to the cashier. As I said, we’re told to pick our battles, and this just wasn’t the hill I wanted to die on.

Unfortunately, the older lady behind me in the line-up wasn’t quite on the same page, as she took in the scene and gasped, “That child is pulling the other child!” The shock and disapproval was very apparent in her voice. I glanced at her and half-shrugged. “You’re okay with this?” she asked, with some measure of disbelief. I mumbled something about how they’re siblings, and this the kind of thing siblings do, as I took my purchase from the cashier and beat a hasty retreat. I was glad when my kids were all buckled in and I was once again out of the view of the lady at the store.

At least life with kids is never boring, right?

Be Sociable, Share!
    Filed Under: Kids and Parenting Tagged With: ,

    Comments

    1. Lindsay
      Twitter:
      says:
      January 14, 2013 at 9:43 am

      Hahaha,
      That’s kind of perfect though, really.
      Lindsay’s last post … The Blue UmbrellaMy Profile

      Reply
    2. Jen
      Twitter:
      says:
      January 14, 2013 at 9:57 am

      I had to go and re-read to see if I missed a sentence where they were harming one another. That lady either doesn’t ahve kids or hasn’t had kids in a long time. Not crying, not dying, not breaking anything = win.
      Jen’s last post … Rosemary JellyMy Profile

      Reply
    3. Delora
      Twitter:
      says:
      January 14, 2013 at 10:23 am

      oy, I hate busy bodies. Clearly neither child was acting out or in distress, so why did she feel the need to comment?

      Reply
    4. Caroline
      Twitter:
      says:
      January 14, 2013 at 10:41 am

      Oh heck… I kind of giggled picturing that. I think it is rather cute. She took you literally LOL. obviously the cashier needs to spend more time around children. maybe you should offer them to her for an afternoon? :P
      Caroline’s last post … Lunch RunMy Profile

      Reply
    5. Marija says:
      January 14, 2013 at 10:58 am

      I still remember the outrage of one of the local mom when one of the neighbourhood toddles dared to toss playground wood chips on TOP of her feet. He was playing around with woodchips, mumbling to himself, and just piling them whenever, and it just happened to pile them on her feet too (and couple of other, he just looked oblivious to feet exact ownership). She was OFFENDED and questioned mom of the toddler on discipline, and made a fuss about her sandals being ruined and toddler being out of control. I had much less sympathy for offended mom, as she was the MOTHER herself. It looked like she was proving point that kids are SO well behaved that they would never dream of putting woodchips on someone’s feet, god forbid.
      I always try to shrug it off – the judge-y persons see judgement themselves everywhere, so they make lives are much harder on themselves. People who can’t see humour in situations like these lead very, very sullen lives indeed. Not that I’m always ready to laugh it off with my kids, they do know who to test boundaries – especially in public. My kid even disturbed one customer of local hip-coffee bar when they jumped off the step leading to inside gallery. Nothing loud, mind you, they just jumped down instead of stepping down. When customer did a big annoyed sigh and gave dirty looks to me and my kids – I decided it is not worth bothering with everybody’s opinion. You really, really can never please everybody. This type of thinking is certainly not new, recorded even in ancient greek times.
      http://www.taleswithmorals.com/aesop-fable-the-man-the-boy-and-the-donkey.htm

      Reply
    6. allison
      Twitter:
      says:
      January 14, 2013 at 12:43 pm

      Yeah. I would have snorted. I know we should let it roll off us, but the truth is those old ladies/ judgmental assholes really piss me off. I don’t hang on to it forever, but there’s no point pretending it doesn’t bother me, on my behalf and yours.
      allison’s last post … Surly Thursday – The Ashes of Irony, or why David Denby can Suck ItMy Profile

      Reply
    7. ebbandflo (@pomomama)
      Twitter:
      says:
      January 14, 2013 at 12:49 pm

      i smiled, and maybe have met this person before?

      no bleeding, no concussion, no breathing problems, no limb deformity, no sharp objects, no nudity, no external display of otherwise internal body fluids = no attention from me
      ebbandflo (@pomomama)’s last post … early one Sunday morning …My Profile

      Reply
    8. clara
      Twitter:
      says:
      January 14, 2013 at 12:49 pm

      I wouldn’t die on that hill either. The hill I will die on will be a very noisy one..quiet hills are nice to just stand on and contemplate the clouds.

      Reply
    9. Melissa Vose
      Twitter:
      says:
      January 14, 2013 at 11:52 pm

      Ha! Hilarious. People can be so nuts! I’ve been in your shoes on a number of occasions and am kind of sensitive when people criticize me like that about my kids. It’s hard not to feel like OHMYGOSH they are right! I’m negligent! Pshhhht. PEOPLE. GET A LIFE.

      I love the comment above where ‘no nudity’ got mentioned. Yep, everyone has their clothes on. No need to intervene. =P

      One day last summer my three boys were at the neighborhood park without me. Free Range Kids style. Suddenly my doorbell rang and it was a woman I’ve never met, with her 3 year old kid and MY FOUR YEAR OLD. She said, “Is this your little boy?” She had found him at the playground playing by himself (abandoned by his 8 and 9 year old brothers: you bed your booty they will never forget THAT DAY), and when it was nearing time to leave she thought, I can’t leave this kid alone at the park. She asked him if he knew where he lived and he did, so she walked him home. She didn’t even judge me one tiny bit, even in the dark recesses of her eyes! I was so grateful.

      THAT is how grown ups should behave. =)
      Melissa Vose’s last post … More Christmas Break FunMy Profile

      Reply
    10. Christy
      Twitter:
      says:
      January 27, 2013 at 10:56 am

      Too funny! Been there with mine, albeit different situation and behaviour, many a time. On a few occasions I’ve become “that mother” that others like to judge. It gets under my skin but in the end whatever.

      You made me laugh so hard I spit tea on my iPad. Thanks for that. Lol.
      Christy’s last post … {this moment}My Profile

      Reply

    I love comments! If yours doesn't appear immediately, it was caught by my spam filter. Drop me a line and I'll rescue it.

    Share Your Thoughts

    *

    CommentLuv badge

    Subscribe to followup comments