Merry Christmas, mother. You owe me.
Tonight I took the family for pictures. Yes, my mother asked for a single family picture from each of the little family units in her family. I could choke her for that, quite merrily, to be honest.
You see, my kids do NOT take pictures. DC doesn't smile in pictures, which is weird since the kid smiles all the time when a camera is not pointed at her. Van doesn't say cheese, he looks like he CUT the cheese. Tyrannosaurus is the easiest to get a decent picture, but it's always iffy, and sometimes he doesn't cooperate. Add to that the fact that I refuse to really smile, until such time as I can afford to get my teeth fixed and pretty, and pesimst hates having his picture taken (he's much more photogenic than he credits, but he's picky and stubborn).
It was not a good experience. The chick taking the pictures was massively click-happy. She wouldn't wait for anyone to get ready, and then she bitched about how bad the pictures were turning out. Then she bitched out my kids. Seriously. Talked to them so rudely, so hatefully. I stepped in front of her and gave her the "Oh, bitch, you did not just say that" look. And she kept going.
"Well, we couldn't get a good picture of you because none of you would smile or do what you were supposed to. If you'd all sat still and smiled before we could take more pictures, but we just have to have that bad one of you because you couldn't do what you were supposed to."
That would be when I blocked her from following my kids into the hall and said "I do NOT appreciate you speaking to my children that way. It is NOT your place to chastise them, scold them or tell them how to behave. I am on the verge of walking out of here right now and calling your superior."
She apologized, but she did not realize what she had done wrong. I bet she still does not have a clue.
I bought the pictures I wanted, mainly so I wouldn't have to go through all of that again. I think I will send an email to the corporate offices, however. NO ONE gets to scold MY children for their own short-comings.
The only people, aside from their parents, who get to say ONE WORD of correction to my children are those people who are helping me raise them, namely, my sisters, my best friend and, occasionally, their grandparents. Why? Because these are all (for the most part, with the occasional exception of the grandparents) people who love my children and will provide guidance, not a lecture in an annoying, patronizing voice. AND, these people who help with my children respect that I am their mother and correct them according to my rules.
Yes, it takes a village. Photo Lady, you are NOT part of my village; you're just an annoying stranger who really, really pissed me off.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Thursday, November 1, 2007
At laaaaaaaaaaaaaaast...
November's come around...
I'm so glad Halloween is finally over (note: I wrote "I'm so glad Thanksgiving is finally over." Freudian slip, perhaps?) We trick-or-treated last night. It was horrible.
What has happened to Halloween in this country? I hear over and over and over and over again that it's "Satanic" or "occult." Now I'm perfectly willing to grant that many of the Hallowe'en traditions are, in fact, pagan in origin. Duh. So are many of the traditions of Easter and Christmas, and so are many of the silly things people do, say or think, without wondering what they mean. Do you ever throw salt over your shoulder if it's spilled? Do you say "Bless you" when someone sneezes? Ding ding ding!
But Hallowe'en, specifically, is actually Christian in origin. In their usual fashion, when the Christian (specifically Catholic) church moved into a new area, they tried to either challenge a "local" pagan holiday, or at least not get rid of someone's feast day. Not really a bad idea, really, since who wants to give up a day off work to convert? No, I'm not making any comments here about any religion, denomination or doctrine. I'm just saying it's good politics.
I LIKE Halloween! I MISS Halloween. The candy grab and traffic jam on the streets last night, with half the houses dark and the other half being mobbed until they ran out of candy was NOT Halloween. It was a nightmare. It was crowded and rude and loud and unpleasant. I was afraid that my tiny DC would get trampled in the crowd, or shoved off a curb in front of a car (granted, the cars didn't move much, until someone came out to direct traffic, but still...).
The only bright part of the evening was watching my little girl, who had never been trick-or-treating before (and may never get to go again) run, grinning, up driveways shouting in her tiny little voice "Trick-or Treat!" and run back, grinning even more, occassionally remembering to shout back over her shoulder "Thank you!" That, at least, was really Halloween.
I'm so glad Halloween is finally over (note: I wrote "I'm so glad Thanksgiving is finally over." Freudian slip, perhaps?) We trick-or-treated last night. It was horrible.
What has happened to Halloween in this country? I hear over and over and over and over again that it's "Satanic" or "occult." Now I'm perfectly willing to grant that many of the Hallowe'en traditions are, in fact, pagan in origin. Duh. So are many of the traditions of Easter and Christmas, and so are many of the silly things people do, say or think, without wondering what they mean. Do you ever throw salt over your shoulder if it's spilled? Do you say "Bless you" when someone sneezes? Ding ding ding!
But Hallowe'en, specifically, is actually Christian in origin. In their usual fashion, when the Christian (specifically Catholic) church moved into a new area, they tried to either challenge a "local" pagan holiday, or at least not get rid of someone's feast day. Not really a bad idea, really, since who wants to give up a day off work to convert? No, I'm not making any comments here about any religion, denomination or doctrine. I'm just saying it's good politics.
I LIKE Halloween! I MISS Halloween. The candy grab and traffic jam on the streets last night, with half the houses dark and the other half being mobbed until they ran out of candy was NOT Halloween. It was a nightmare. It was crowded and rude and loud and unpleasant. I was afraid that my tiny DC would get trampled in the crowd, or shoved off a curb in front of a car (granted, the cars didn't move much, until someone came out to direct traffic, but still...).
The only bright part of the evening was watching my little girl, who had never been trick-or-treating before (and may never get to go again) run, grinning, up driveways shouting in her tiny little voice "Trick-or Treat!" and run back, grinning even more, occassionally remembering to shout back over her shoulder "Thank you!" That, at least, was really Halloween.
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