Don't cross him
Yesterday the boys and I were headed out of the house to a playdate. I was standing in the driveway, loading Thomas into his carseat; James had stopped on the front path to examine a work.
As my top half emerged from the car after buckling Thomas in, I heard a woman's voice say, in a pointedly bright tone, "Oh, THERE'S your mommy!"
I looked round.
A woman with a dog was standing on the sidewalk in front of our house, addressing the air. She announced -- again, brightly -- "I saw this precious little boy standing in the yard all by himself and I thought SURELY his mommy must be around somewhere! She'd BETTER be!"
Annoyed, I said, "Yes, how nice to meet you. James, let's hop in the car now."
James, in the woman's own bright tone, announced to the air, "What an ugly dog!"
Our new friend made a hasty exit and so did we. James is not in the habit of saying that kind of thing; he appeared to have produced it specially for this occasion.
As my top half emerged from the car after buckling Thomas in, I heard a woman's voice say, in a pointedly bright tone, "Oh, THERE'S your mommy!"
I looked round.
A woman with a dog was standing on the sidewalk in front of our house, addressing the air. She announced -- again, brightly -- "I saw this precious little boy standing in the yard all by himself and I thought SURELY his mommy must be around somewhere! She'd BETTER be!"
Annoyed, I said, "Yes, how nice to meet you. James, let's hop in the car now."
James, in the woman's own bright tone, announced to the air, "What an ugly dog!"
Our new friend made a hasty exit and so did we. James is not in the habit of saying that kind of thing; he appeared to have produced it specially for this occasion.
posted by Ridley at
4:25 PM
2 Comments:
Good job James!
I so hate the people who try to enforce paranoia on parents.
My favorite instance of that was when I broke my leg. I broke it on the back stairs of our building when I was alone with Isabel (age 4 1/2); I didn't have my phone on me, and Isabel was unable to get in to the apartment to get it. Plan A (screaming) wasn't working, so I sent Isabel out to the sidewalk with instructions to find a grown-up and tell them that mommy broke her leg and needed an ambulance. She did it, and the woman who came to our aid (to whom I am very grateful, and who did everything else right) was telling me how lucky we were that she was the one Isabel found [instead of the Bad Men]. But, besides the fact that I was pretty low on options just then, the odds were overwhelmingly in our favor that the first person who happened by would respond correctly to a small child seeking an ambulance for her injured mother. It's not a hard ethical problem -- I'm guessing that even most health insurance executives would get that one right.
why do i get the feeling that the apple and the tree are veeery close together? thanks to actor and recounter for a great laugh. i miss you all.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home