Saturday, May 3, 2008

Humiliation:Over The Top

I should have known better, but I suppose I was delusional, or I just severely overestimated my children and how they handle themselves in public as a whole.
I really wanted to get Eli's haircut this past Thursday and cheap-o-cuts was having a $4.99 haircut extravaganza. So, after loading up in the school parking lot, we went for that haircut. Bad idea. Bad, bad idea. I can't remember the last time I was so embarrassed by my children...okay, I can remember, I just don't want to. But this, this was a drive-mom-into-a-chair-in-tears kind of embarrassment.

First off, Sam saw a canister full of these little rubber hairbrushes on the counter, and he wanted one. Now. When I thwarted his attempt to scale the counter and grab the entire canister, a tantrum ensued. A loud, kicking and screaming "You meanie!" tantrum. At this point, all that I got were some knowing looks and a few chuckles from the other patrons. After all, the kid is 2 and 2 year olds are famous for throwing tantrums.

The most embarrassing moment happened when Josh took a paper color wheel (or whatever is was) off the shelf and began flinging in around like a Frisbee. People were ducking so as not to be hit in the head with it. I sternly told him to put it back. Right now. He looked at me with his cockeyed blank stare and continued to throw the thing around. I again told him to stop. Same blank stare. Behavior continued. Okay, so now I was getting REALLY mad. I leaped up to beat the crap out of him make him stand up and put the wheel back. I took his hand and pulled him out of his seat. Well, Josh very dramatically threw himself about 2 feet away onto the floor--then he looked up at me and said " You THREW me! YOU did that to me"! Immediately, the people in the other chairs that had been 'reading' their magazines, looked up at ME in disgust and gave me a look that was so disapproving. I just wanted to walk out the door and leave them all there, but instead I sat back down in my chair and cried. I doubt I will EVER step foot back in that place again.

Long story short, haircut was done, I lost more of my sanity and my dignity.

Maybe when the kids graduate from college I'll be able to take them out into public again and not fear humiliation.

That will be the day.

1 comment:

mums_hugs said...

HUGS for you
Sometimes I think kids were put on this earth to test us to the very edge of our sanity. I read somewhere once that 23 hours of frustration/pain/crankiness can be eliminated by one true and precious smile that allows us to give thanks for our child. But it is damn hard sometimes, lol.