A short back story on how my family works in public: My toddler, "A", is 2 years old and very busy. Not in the "she's-so-spirited-and-creative" while she breaks glass and I smile adoringly as mayhem ensues kind of way. Just the, she's constantly in motion, kind of way. I DO NOT tolerate destruction, screaming, tantrums etc. This is not how we conduct ourselves in public and I will gladly take the offending child out of the store and wait in the car until the rest of my family is done shopping if that is what is necessary.
The set up:
We were at a discount store called Ollies last night. The place is huge and there is so freaking much to look at. I adore this store, their motto is "GOOD STUFF CHEAP!" so it's pretty self explanatory as to why.
It's now 9PM, and Ollies is closing. "A" missed her nap, but she's pretty un-phased other than a bit of selective deafness (which can get a little taxing, but such is life with a toddler). We're at Ollies because it was the closest place to the Mexican joint we ate dinner at that had a decent amount of space to walk around. We were all feeling like huge Fatty McFattersons and needed to walk it off.
So, we're standing in the checkout and there are 2 people in front of us, so we're hanging out into the isle a little bit waiting our turn. An employee, who couldn't have been any older than 22, was behind us and to our right unpacking some stacked boxes that appeared to contain some chemicals in gallon jugs. After a little back and forth and a bit of a thumb war, A decides she no longer wants to hold my hand or stand so she plops herself on the floor. I will now stop to say there was NO screaming, there were no tears, she was not rolling on the floor or tearing things off of shelves. She simply placed her chubby little buns on the floor exactly where she was standing. I, being a huge germ freak, immediately start to pick her up off the floor. This girl turns and says "Off the floor." quite gruffly and with no please, thank you, or explanation. I think one of two things, she either thinks she's doing me some favor by helping me get my out of control (eye roll) child off the floor, or she's concerned because she's unpacking chemicals.
Two other options occurred to me later, she hates kids or she does not value her own life...
I look at her with a bit of irritation, being I was in the middle of lifting A off the floor, and say "we're working on it, it's happening right now" and turn around. As the law of
I am proud to say, I took a breath before reacting.
My first instinct was to either rip off her arms and beat her with them with my newly induced mama-bear rage, or scream at her until she was reduced to a crying puddle of passive-aggressive-scumbag. But I did neither of these things, I took one deep, quick breath, looked up and said "OK...you do NOT talk to her like that." In a firm, dont-fuck-with-me tone, lifted my child into my arms, and turned around. She immediately said "ok!", and suddenly made herself very busy.
Meanwhile, my husband & our friend both have their jaws on the floor. It happened so quickly neither of them even reacted other than that "duuuurrrr" look. The girl in front of us looked like it was go time. She asks "Does she know you?!?" I loudly say "No, she most definately does NOT know us" and she gives a good, well practiced "bitch, please" stare at the offending baby hater and says "Mmmmm, I thought you were related or something to be talking to your child like that." to which I tell her again that I definitely do not know her at all.
At this point what happened has finally sunk in and my husband and our buddy start to recover from their stupor. We paid for our items and left, I'm still pretty sure the cashier had no clue what happened in that 15 seconds, she looked quite confused.
Of course, as we walked out we had to recount the incident 6 or so times with our added "I should have" and "I can't believe she" and about 60 "it happened so fast"'s inserted into the situation.
I will be calling corporate to make a complaint on Monday. Do I want to get this girl fired? No, not at all. But I work in retail as well and there are some things you just not say to your customers or their children. I work in a crappy podunk town that has the habit of resembling a fantastic combo of Lord of the Flies and New Jack City. I totally get being PO'd at your customers, or just having a bad day. But you do NOT pop off at a baby like that. You just don't. Not only is it against every policy ever in the retail world, but it's generally assholeish. I just don't get why someone would speak to a small child like that, especially one they just do not know.
It wouldn't surprise me if that girl went home and facebooked or blogged about the horrible monster child and her demon mother that screamed at her at her work. Gah, can't people just control their children?
That thought makes me giggle a bit.
