Are You Talking to Me?

We did nothing today. By that I mean that we did nothing. We didn't go anywhere. We got up, had breakfast, the kids went upstairs to do whatever it is that they do, I put a load of laundry in the washing machine, and worked on Rebe's scrapbook. When the clock struck noon we had lunch. M went down for a nap, J watched a movie, and I finally got out of my PJs.

And the rest of the afternoon went much the same. I prepped dinner, folded clothes, washed dishes, and finally, around 4pm we walked over to the neighbor's house for a little bit of playtime before dinner.

Once we got home, Daddy announced that his buddies from out of town were going to be in Olympia and he was going to meet them for a drink. Wonderful. I had planned to take J to Target to get a birthday present for our little neighbor's party tomorrow afternoon. I had no plans to take M.

In spite of all the arguments I had in my mind about why he should not go, I said nothing and packed them in the car. Once in the toy department they touched everything they could get their hands on, pushed every button, lit up every gadget, placed as many items as they could in the middle of the aisle so as to not let anybody get through. I probably said, "come here; don't do that; pick that up; no, no, no; get out of the way," oh, I would guess 189 times. But we accomplished our mission and left with gift in hand -- well, half gift. We still had to go over to Borders to get something else.

Our trip there was uneventful. We went in, found what we wanted, and walked over to the cashier with the store still in decent shape.

That's when he walked up. A gentleman, probably in his 50s, nicely dressed, and he says to me, "Thank you for showing your kids how to use their inside voices." I looked around and there was nobody else there except the kids who as far as I know don't have any offspring as of yet. So I responded, "Really?"

There are a couple of reasons for my response. First of all, my kids are never quiet. And especially at Borders. As a matter of fact, they have actually been reprimanded by one of the workers there. And second, "Use your inside voice" is not a phrase I use very often. My version is more direct: Shut up! So, I said, "Did I say that? I don't remember, but it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility since I'm always saying something to them." He then chuckled and replied, "No, but look at them. They're so well-behaved. I can tell you try. Unlike some parents."


And then I looked. Like really looked. And they were behaving. J was standing a little behind me waiting for the cashier to hand me the book so we can be on your way. And although M was touching some books -- the temptation is just too much for her --they weren't off the shelf and sprawled on the floor with pages ripped out -- yet.

He really was talking to me. For that second anyway.