If you know me at all, you know about my multiple personality disorder. I call her "Mama Bear" and, girl, she can mess you UP! I find myself speaking up and doing things in situations I would have never imagined in defense of my boys. I'm fair, strict, and discipline them when necessary...just don't YOU do it for me. It's just one of those things that sets off my switch (you know, the one that rhymes with 'witch'?).
Well, I got this article from Mom Logic yesterday, and I knew it was a Feedback Friday post in the making: (excerpt from Mom Logic)
"This happened to a Georgia mom on Monday. Sonya Mathews' daughter, Paige, was crying in the store when 61-year-old Roger Stephens told Mathews that if she didn't make her kid stop crying, he would. When little Paige continued to cry, he walked up to her and slapped her across the face several times. After he did it, he told Mathews, "See, I told you I would shut her up."
Mathews screamed at him and called for security. Another shopper stopped him. He was arrested and charged with cruelty to a child, a felony, and is being held without bail. Paige suffered no injuries, except for some redness in the face."
Now, something on a smaller scale happened to me once in a restaurant while we were vacationing at the beach about 5 years ago. We were having a wonderful night, The Big Guy and I were enjoying a drink and talking and the kids were playing and giggling quietly. They were playing a game where they were blowing on each other with a straw (I don't know, I guess it seemed fun). I can remember sitting there thinking, this is a great night.
Well, out of nowhere a lady at a neighboring table approached my kids and sternly scolded them for playing this game "Put that straw down! You could poke someone's eye out!" Then she walked away and returned to her table.
Have you ever heard someone say they "saw red"? Well, I became so angry at this lady for butting in that I saw black! I was so enraged I began to cry. Man, I hate that. The Big Guy kept trying to talk me down and then he made the fatal mistake of taking the boys to the bathroom.
I got up and spoke to the woman (through tears) and tried to make the general point that: if you want to say something to my kids, you gotta go through me first. (there were lots of "how dare you"s and "where do you get off"s amid sniffles and snorts). I'm pretty sure I made my point. But, in the end, it ruined my entire night.
Have you ever experienced this? Did you react as strongly? Is there a situation where you would ever discipline someone else's child while they were present (unless they were hurting your kid)? What on earth would you have done to the man in Walmart? (I would have put a beat down on that dude. They would have had to tear me off from him...just sayin'). Come on, let me have it with some Feedback!
**Don't forget my Tutorial Linky Party next Tuesday! I'm calling on all my creative readers to help me out during my vaca by entertaining my readers with some cool tutorials. Don't let me down!**
Oh! And check out this opportunity to share where you were on September 11, 2001, this mom has it together and this should have been my Feedback Friday post for today. Go to Where Were You on 9/11? to post your response..
