Say What?

2 random happenings from the past couple of weeks . . .

We were in Wal-Mart (our second home) several days ago, waiting outside the restroom for Rachel. Zekers patiently sat in the blue toddler seat attached to the cart, and Kari Bou very impatiently squirmed in the "basket" portion of the cart for smaller children. A kind-looking older woman came out of the restroom, saw us, and smiling broadly, came over to chat for a minute.

I've found that whenever you venture out in public with three kids ages 4 & under, you get lots of comments - everything from nice ("Oh, aren't they adorable?") to sympathetic ("You certainly have your hands full!") to downright rude ("There are ways to prevent that, you know.") This woman seemed like the nice type.

"What a big, strapping boy you have there!" She exclaimed. "My, he looks strong."

I started to smile and respond, when I realized she wasn't looking at my son, but at my DAUGHTER. Now, Karis had her one-year checkup several weeks ago and weighed in at a whopping 19.5 lbs - enough to put her in the 25th percentile for weight. She's in the 85th percentile for height, however, which makes her seem even thinner. She has very little hair and was wearing a brown shirt that day, so I could sort of understand the mistake, but come on - Zekers was sitting right there and is bigger and broader in every way! The last thing any mother wants to hear is how masculine her sweet, delicate little girl looks.

I was about to explain that Karis was, in fact, a girl, but I couldn't get a word in edgewise. "My, you're going to make a fine football player someday - probably a linebacker!" She continued. At this point I simply smiled politely and prayed fervently that Rach would come out of the bathroom.

And when she did come out (of the girls' restroom), what was this nice lady's comment? "Where in the world does he get his beautiful curly hair?" I must confess, I grabbed the cart and bolted, afraid that in five more minutes she'd have discovered Zekers and turned him into a ballerina.

Later in the week, we were again out running errands - this time waiting at a red light. Rach & Zekers like to talk to each other and to me while we're driving, so often when I'm sitting at a light I'll turn around so I can see them. On this particular occasion, they looked so adorable sitting there like three little ducks in a row, that I couldn't help exclaiming, apparently very loudly, "You guys are SO cute!"

Almost at the same moment, I glanced to the side, and saw that right next to us sat a red pickup truck with 2 young-ish men in the front seat. The weather being somewhat warm, we both had our windows open. I have never seen two heads snap so fast to look in my direction. And I won't soon forget the expression on their faces - a mixture of surprise and delight. At once, it ocurred to me that our windows are all tinted, and the back seat windows were, in fact, closed. There was absolutely no evidence to indicate I had been talking to anyone other than them! After making matters worse by inadvertently saying, "Aw, crap", the only other option that came into my head was to turn around and speak to the kids very loudly, making it obvious I had been talking to children in the back seat. I have never experienced such a torturously long wait at a red light.

I've decided from now on I'm having my groceries delivered.