Serious Attitudes

I have noticed lately that people seem to have a total sense of entitlement. I mean it is even with simple things like waiting at a red light. Back in the days of drivers education I learned that red means stop, not go. You come to a red light, you stop. Heck, you come to a yellow light you are supposed to stop but I have been known to step on it a tad just to get through it, so I am not casting stones on that one. But yesterday I was going to a friends house with the girls and while waiting at a light the person directly across from me decided that she had waited long enough and since no one was coming the other way that it would be okay to just go through the red light. Admittedly she did it with ease and no adverse effects were seen, but come on. Are we too busy with life that we can't even wait to follow the law of stopping for a red light?

I wish I could say that it was only affecting (or is it effecting? I never was good with this particular point in grammar) place that I see these attitudes. I also seem to see them in grocery stores. Hello? Grocery stores. Yes, the friendly grocer down the way also known as Stop and Shop. The other day I lined up all of my groceries from my sports car shopping cart that my girls were ferociously driving and the checker who was all of about 16 stopped the manager on his way past and said (true story here...) can I take my break now? Um, I just unloaded about $150 worth of groceries and you are honestly asking if you can just walk away before you start running it through that little beeper thing where it reads the barcodes? The manager looked at him, then at me and shrugged his shoulders and said, "when Shelly gets back." I mean really, if the manager had said yes I would have been left there with this kid not caring at all just so long as he got his break. And can I take this moment to say that I have worked a few jobs in my day and I can't remember getting a break with any of them. So, then when I remarked that he didn't credit me for my 6 green bags that I brought in, he carelessly said, "oh, do you want me to just give you the 30 cents?" I realize that to this little snot that 30 cents isn't a lot of money and okay I will admit that I have more than that rolling around in the ashtray of my car, but for goodness sake, what is up? It is the store's policy that if you bring in any reusable bag, you get a credit of 5 cents per bag. I am not making it up, your employer is, give me my damn money for hauling two kids and 6 green bags in with me. Sheesh.

I wish I could afford to buy all of my groceries at Trader Joe's. They have THE NICEST people working there. I wonder if they make them take a test prior to being hired wherein they list the adverse conditions they could possibly face during the day and how they would handle them because the crew they have in there have the right attitude. Both of my kids get stickers and balloons in Trader Joe's and as a mother, anyone who helps me out or shows the slightest kindness to me or the kids while I am shopping gets a thumbs up in my book.

I also wish that I could tell you that it is only complete strangers giving me attitude lately but sadly it has followed me home by way of my own three year old. Yes, we have serious attitude going on right now and simple questions I ask of her like "why did you take every single book out of your bookcase?" is met with the "Because I wanted to." Can't argue with that can you? I was very upset with Aimee the other day because she decided it would be a good idea to take her sister's heels and drag her by them off of my bed. So when I heard a big thud and a loud scream as I was just feet away in my bathroom I asked her "what did you do?" To which she looked me straight in the eye while still holding her sister's heels and said "nufing" (preschooler speak for nothing if you didn't get it). So I proceeded to tell her, we don't do that to Nicole, she can get very hurt by that. And I swear to God, Aimee looked at me and with a bit of a glare said "don't tell me what to do." Three years old people. Three. I thought I had at least until teen years to hear those words come out of her mouth. Suffice to say that was a bad day leaving Aimee in her room more times than she was out.

Of course the good days are also just as prevalent as the bad ones where she is my little side kick and helps me whenever I ask. But it's the days like above that I describe where you wonder, what have I gotten myself into and how am I going to make it? I now have no preconceived notion or discontempt for how others mother. If you need to scream at your child in the middle of the frozen food aisle to get them back into your shopping cart so you can just get the rest of your grocerys, get out of the store and strap them back into their car seats for a few minutes of sanity, I let you be and make no judgement. Because typically this episode is probably not the first of the day for that child but most likely one of the many of the day.

In other news, preschool has been off to a great start and Aimee loves it. I feel a bit sad for Nicole though. Aimee is at a new school, taking swimming lessons and just signed up for ballet/tap class and then there is poor Nicole just waiting in the wings. I don't really know if I should sign her up for a music class with me or something but I feel as though she has been watching Aimee do all of these fun things and I should do something with her, I just need to figure out where I can fit in that one little tidbit in our days. Stay tuned for what I decide to do.

Also for those of you on the edge of your seats, another 1-1/4 pounds lost in WW for a total of about 4 I think. I used to be able to lose that much in a week and now it has taken me a month. What gives? Whatever, at least I haven't gained 4 pounds on it, as I have done that in the past in my first weeks as well.