Special Snowflake Stories

[Yarnspinner]

I've just stopped pounding my head on the desk after this little exchange.  Couldn't decide whether to put it here or the conversations that drive you crazy thread...then figured that this patron is a major snowflake (she's the one that wanted me to zip up her coat) so here she is again.

She trotted over and showed me some new electrical gadget (looked like a phone, but not really) and said "Do you have a card for this that's maybe lying around in lost and found and you can give it to me so I can use this?"

And I said "If we had a card for that in lost and found, it would mean someone else lost it and it belonged to THEM."

Snowflake stares at me.

"But see, it NEEDS a card."

"And we don't have any of those."

"But I could buy one."

"Yes, but we don't carry them.  Library, not computer store."

She contemplates this a while, then says "How many days until February 2nd?"

I give her the number of days until Saturday, February 2.  (9).

She continues "Oh, that's such a long time.  This month has been so long.  Why is it taking this month so long to go by?  Is the month usually this long?  Does it take a month this long to go by?"

"Well," I said "when you are waiting for something, it can make the month seem a lot longer than it is. "

Finally she wandered off and my coworker said "Kind of like that conversation probably seemed to take a lot longer than the five minutes it was."

[Twik]

Yarnspinner, please tell me this was not an adult, or even a teenager. 

[TootsNYC]

I am going to go against the grain...I think that doctors/dentists have found that kids do better when their parents AREN"T there in general.
Likw how kids act better at school or the babysitter or at friends houses but save all their whining and annoying behavior for you.
One does have to make sure about safety, but for example at our dentist there is a big room with lots of people in it but parents are not allowed in.  Worked great for my kids and I am sure there would have been some clinginess otherwise.
Now for kids with special needs accommodations should be made but for a typical kid it works better.

When DS was about 7 he took gymnastics classes, and the other mothers thought that I was a horrible, uncaring parent because I didn't sit in the observation room cheering him on.  If I was there, he spent all his time looking at me, but when I left, he focused on the instructor and the class.  So I would either sit in my car and read, or sit in a far corner where he couldn't see me.  There was one mom in particular who made a big point of cheering for DS every time he walked across the room, all the time giving me dirty looks and shaking her head.

that reminded me of this: 
http://alameda.patch.com/blog_posts/please-dont-help-my-kids

Dear Other Parents At The Park:

Please do not lift my daughters to the top of the ladder, especially after you've just heard me tell them I wasn't going to do it for them and encourage them to try it themselves.

I am not sitting here, 15 whole feet away from my kids, because I am too lazy to get up. I am sitting here because I didn't bring them to the park so they could learn how to manipulate others into doing the hard work for them. I brought them here so they could learn to do it themselves.

They're not here to be at the top of the ladder; they are here to learn to climb.

[snowflake]

that reminded me of this: 
http://alameda.patch.com/blog_posts/please-dont-help-my-kids

Dear Other Parents At The Park:

Please do not lift my daughters to the top of the ladder, especially after you've just heard me tell them I wasn't going to do it for them and encourage them to try it themselves.

I am not sitting here, 15 whole feet away from my kids, because I am too lazy to get up. I am sitting here because I didn't bring them to the park so they could learn how to manipulate others into doing the hard work for them. I brought them here so they could learn to do it themselves.

They're not here to be at the top of the ladder; they are here to learn to climb.

Love this.

I am always the "mean" mother who is engendering self-reliance in her kids.  I am encouraging a 4-year-old to make her own sandwiches.  If she goes back to her depressed relatives, she and her brother are gonna always be able to feed themselves if I have anything to do with it!  Of course, besides the practical, it's just precious to see the face of a child figuring stuff out.  I can't imagine depriving a kid of the rush that self-efficacy brings.

[ladyknight1]

I get that people can sometimes not plan enough time into their schedule to accomplish all of their morning tasks. However, your (general you) commute isn't the time to:

Gentlemen: Apply products and style your hair while your car is moving down the road! Shaving with an electric razor while driving. Changing clothes (everything but underwear) while stopped at an intersection.

Ladies: Applying makeup (not powder and lip gloss) while the car is moving. Styling hair with brushes while driving. Changing shirts while driving.

Yes, I have witnessed all of these. I also frequently see people reading magazines, newspapers and printed pages while traveling down the road. Today's winner, a guy reading his smartphone while driving his DeLorean.

[wonderfullyanonymous]

that reminded me of this: 
http://alameda.patch.com/blog_posts/please-dont-help-my-kids

Dear Other Parents At The Park:

Please do not lift my daughters to the top of the ladder, especially after you've just heard me tell them I wasn't going to do it for them and encourage them to try it themselves.

I am not sitting here, 15 whole feet away from my kids, because I am too lazy to get up. I am sitting here because I didn't bring them to the park so they could learn how to manipulate others into doing the hard work for them. I brought them here so they could learn to do it themselves.

They're not here to be at the top of the ladder; they are here to learn to climb.

Love this.

I am always the "mean" mother who is engendering self-reliance in her kids.  I am encouraging a 4-year-old to make her own sandwiches.  If she goes back to her depressed relatives, she and her brother are gonna always be able to feed themselves if I have anything to do with it!  Of course, besides the practical, it's just precious to see the face of a child figuring stuff out.  I can't imagine depriving a kid of the rush that self-efficacy brings.

When my daughter was small, I would put a cup of milk in the fridge at night so she could make a bowl of cereal without dumping a gallon of milk on the floor, and I could sleep in occasionally.

[nuit93]

Today's winner, a guy reading his smartphone while driving his DeLorean.

That sounds like a deleted scene from Back To The Future Part II.

[MommyPenguin]

that reminded me of this: 
http://alameda.patch.com/blog_posts/please-dont-help-my-kids

Dear Other Parents At The Park:

Please do not lift my daughters to the top of the ladder, especially after you've just heard me tell them I wasn't going to do it for them and encourage them to try it themselves.

I am not sitting here, 15 whole feet away from my kids, because I am too lazy to get up. I am sitting here because I didn't bring them to the park so they could learn how to manipulate others into doing the hard work for them. I brought them here so they could learn to do it themselves.

They're not here to be at the top of the ladder; they are here to learn to climb.

Love this.

I am always the "mean" mother who is engendering self-reliance in her kids.  I am encouraging a 4-year-old to make her own sandwiches.  If she goes back to her depressed relatives, she and her brother are gonna always be able to feed themselves if I have anything to do with it!  Of course, besides the practical, it's just precious to see the face of a child figuring stuff out.  I can't imagine depriving a kid of the rush that self-efficacy brings.

When my daughter was small, I would put a cup of milk in the fridge at night so she could make a bowl of cereal without dumping a gallon of milk on the floor, and I could sleep in occasionally.

I do this, too!  I have a kid-sized (Montessori) pitcher of milk in the fridge.  I started when my oldest was 3 with a little cup of Cheerios outside her door when she woke up.  She'd have some herself and poke others between the bars of the crib for her 1-year-old sister.

[Piratelvr1121]

that reminded me of this: 
http://alameda.patch.com/blog_posts/please-dont-help-my-kids

Dear Other Parents At The Park:

Please do not lift my daughters to the top of the ladder, especially after you've just heard me tell them I wasn't going to do it for them and encourage them to try it themselves.

I am not sitting here, 15 whole feet away from my kids, because I am too lazy to get up. I am sitting here because I didn't bring them to the park so they could learn how to manipulate others into doing the hard work for them. I brought them here so they could learn to do it themselves.

They're not here to be at the top of the ladder; they are here to learn to climb.

Love this.

I am always the "mean" mother who is engendering self-reliance in her kids.  I am encouraging a 4-year-old to make her own sandwiches.  If she goes back to her depressed relatives, she and her brother are gonna always be able to feed themselves if I have anything to do with it!  Of course, besides the practical, it's just precious to see the face of a child figuring stuff out.  I can't imagine depriving a kid of the rush that self-efficacy brings.

I had neighbors who couldn't seem to get over the idea that my older two can cook a few things and do a few chores.  It's not a lot but these folks were astounded that we made the boys take out the trash and recycling on Monday nights, do their own laundry (not all the time, but maybe a load every few weeks.  And they know how to make a few things, such as mac & cheese, scrambled eggs, grilled cheese and omelets.  Simple stuff but the way these people reacted to it you'd think I expected the kids to cook gourmet meals for the family.    

Their oldest son's father was over there once when the boy's mother and her boyfriend were going on about this and said "Well when N's with me he can cook up some things. Nothing too complicated, usually just putting frozen nuggets on a cookie sheet and popping it in the oven."

My folks used to act scandalized when I didn't force the boys to rely on me for everything they needed and let them help themselves to a few things when they were old enough to open the fridge.  Not everything but I did keep things like apples and bananas or grapes.  So they'd go walking to the table with a banana and hear "Where'd he get that? Why do you let him help himself?" Yes, it's awful isn't it, they're helping themselves to nutrition! GASP!!!

Just call CPS on me now! *swoon*

[LadyClaire]

My mom's rule was that we could help ourselves to fruit and veggies but we had to ask for cookies or candy. We also knew how to fix sandwiches and such from a pretty young age.

[ladyknight1]

Today's winner, a guy reading his smartphone while driving his DeLorean.

That sounds like a deleted scene from Back To The Future Part II.

It baffled me, since the car is already rare, and irreplaceable!

[kherbert05]

I can see why someone water jogging or doing water aerobics would not want to be splashed.  I do water aerobics and I wear glasses while I'm doing them.  Splashes on my glasses make it hard for me to see.  But I figure that's what you get when you get when you exercise in a pool.  I just try to move a little further from the splasher.  And that's what the ladies beside the pool should do - move out of the splash zone or put up with getting wet. 

I have done water aerobics at 3 different clubs in 2 cities, and I have visited even more.   There is tension between the water aerobics people and the lap swimmers anywhere they have to share a pool.  Its one of the reasons I only take exercise in scheduled water aerobics classes.  Any disagreements between the class and the lap swimmers will be handled by club management, usually in favor of the scheduled water aerobics class.

But shouldn't someone swimming for fitness not be splashing but cutting through the water. I remember my sister's swim team coach telling them that if they were splashing they were wasting energy throwing water up instead of pushing through the water.

[Cami]

I can see why someone water jogging or doing water aerobics would not want to be splashed.  I do water aerobics and I wear glasses while I'm doing them.  Splashes on my glasses make it hard for me to see.  But I figure that's what you get when you get when you exercise in a pool.  I just try to move a little further from the splasher.  And that's what the ladies beside the pool should do - move out of the splash zone or put up with getting wet. 

I have done water aerobics at 3 different clubs in 2 cities, and I have visited even more.   There is tension between the water aerobics people and the lap swimmers anywhere they have to share a pool.  Its one of the reasons I only take exercise in scheduled water aerobics classes.  Any disagreements between the class and the lap swimmers will be handled by club management, usually in favor of the scheduled water aerobics class.

But shouldn't someone swimming for fitness not be splashing but cutting through the water. I remember my sister's swim team coach telling them that if they were splashing they were wasting energy throwing water up instead of pushing through the water.

  I'd hazard a guess that most people have not had the benefit of a swim coach teaching them how to efficiently slice through water.

[kherbert05]

I don't know if this is SS or just dangerously oblivious.

In one neighborhood that I drive through to get home, there are no sidewalks.  Still, when I was learning rules of the road, one rule is that in such situations, pedestrians should walk on the side facing approaching traffic.  So here it is, in that late afternoon/starting to darken time when I see the pedestrian dressed in dark colors walking on the side which is back-to-approaching traffic (i.e. me), bobbing about on the edge/into my lane.  Unfortunately, there's several opposing cars, so I can't just go around, but she kept bobbling out into my driving space so I didn't feel like it was safe to just continue on, so I'm crawling at a walker's pace until the traffic cleared and I could go around.  At which point I was also able to notice the strings of earphones.

So yes--by all means, as dark is approaching, wear dark clothes, walk on the wrong side of the road *and* cut off the means of noticing the world around you.  No one else wants to travel on that road, too, right?

I had a couple that did this daily on my route to work. One day on of the cops came by the school to eat with the kids. I asked if anything could be done because they were a real hazard. He said he would let the officers that patrolled that area at that time. The next day I saw an officer had them "pulled over". After that they were walking against the traffic and they had flashlights.


I also so the exact opposite. A man that jogged before dawn. He had a head lamp and his shorts/shirts and shoes were lined with reflective tape and he had one of those dayglow vests. He looked like a torso and shoes jogging down down the street. Kind of spooky but highly visible.

[CrochetFanatic]

I almost hit someone once, for similar reasons.  It was night, he was walking on the side of the road, and he was wearing dark jeans and a black hoodie.  He even had black sneakers on.  I had just enough time to shriek and slam on the breaks, and he started banging on the passenger side window and yelling at me.  I didn't stick around to hear all he had to say.