I’m sure we can all agree that kids are absolutely adorable. But, they can get pretty annoying at times, especially in public. For the most part my kids are very well behaved.
But a tantrum can happen at any time. Needless to say, we sometimes get the side eye from people without kids who are probably thinking, this woman can’t control her children.
The other day we woke up to no electricity. It so happened that I had planned to take the kids out anyway. But knowing that the power might not come back for a while made me want to keep them out longer.
We went to the museum and it didn’t take long for O to start fussing. He wanted to get out of the stroller and push it himself, as you can seen in this video. He’s not even close to being tall enough to do it on his own.
So you can imagine me holding him up while he pushed the darn thing around the museum. He wouldn’t even let me help him steer, which led to us going in all kinds of directions. I knew we were in for a rough day after that.
I’m great at multitasking, but this was crazy. There I was explaining the exhibits to Princess while making sure her little brother didn’t crash into anything.
By the time we finished at the museum, I was starving and worn out. We headed to the kids’ favorite restaurant for lunch.
They’re usually great when it comes to dining out. But, O was on a roll because he shouted almost the entire time. It’s not like he was upset or anything. He just felt like giving the ladies next to us an earful. Thank goodness they didn’t seem to mind him being so loud. They gave off the “I understand what you’re going though mom vibe.”
Once we were done eating, I made a quick call only to find out that the power had not yet been restored. Although we were exhausted, I wanted to stop by the library to get O a library card and sign the kids up for the summer reading program.
What I thought would be a quick visit turned into a nightmare from hell. It started with O running around and playing with some of the props that were on display.
“Don’t touch that,” I said.
“Get off the floor, “ I ordered.
When that didn’t work, I picked him up and he lost it.
It all happened while the librarian was trying to explain the program to us. She must have repeated herself about a dozen times.
“You already said that,” I told her.
“I know. I just want to make sure she (meaning Princess) understands,” she responded.
At one point, she gave a sigh with an annoyed look on her face. Then had the nerved to ask me if I was okay. “You look frazzled,” she added.
“I’m fine,” I answered.
I got the info for the program, signed up for O’s library card, picked out some books, and hit the road.
Power was back on within 20 minutes of being home. By that time, the kids were down for the count. It was a long day and I was so glad it was over.
For those of you who are parents, I’m sure you can empathize with my situation. We’ve all experienced parenting problems at one time or another. It was either keep the kids locked up in a hot house or take them out for an activities and some fresh air.
For those of you who aren’t parents, I know that it’s annoying seeing kids act up in public. Heck, I was once in your shoes. My husband and I would be eating at a restaurant and wonder why parents couldn’t keep their rowdy children at home. Now we’ve become those people!
For the record, it’s not easy. We can’t always leave the kids at home. Moreover, we can’t predict their mood or how they’ll behave in public. So please bare with us and know that it’s tough for us too. If you ever become a parent, you’ll remember this post and maybe have an aha moment.
And this is why I keep my mouth shut when I see a tantrum! I know it’s not always what I’m immediately seeing. Having said that, I do think it works both ways– obviously you are an amazing mother who loves and disciplines your children. It just breaks my heart when I see a mother allow her children to have completely, under-no-circumstances-acceptable misbehavior. But that’s another post and one very far from this one. 🙂
Great post!! We all have those days when the kids just arent having it and there is nothing we can do to change the mood!!
a lesson we all learn sooner or later! or some… never!
Curious about why you said “You already said that”
But seemed upset when she sighed
She wasn’t being very understand. Her tone expressed her annoyance with my screaming child and she only prolonged what I thought would be a short trip. If I were in her shoes and saw a mom who seemed, as the librarian described, frazzled, I’d do whatever I can to speed up the process.