In Which I Win the Bad Mommy Booby Prize
I was a Bad Mommy today. Oh, I started off pretty well, with a trip to the European Book Company to buy Z some board books in French. Z fell asleep while we were there, so I walked up to the Asian Art Museum, where the farmers' market had been replaced by jewelry and clothes vendors' stalls, and sat down by the fountain to eat the sandwich and banana I'd packed for lunch. Then we got on MUNI to go back to Golden Gate Park. That's where my troubles began...
The de Young Museum is having a big, nifty exhibit on King Tut. And I thought I'd like to go. Problem: while strollers are allowed in the main museum, they are not allowed in the special exhibit hall. Instead of thinking, "Z ran around like a maniac at the aquarium, which is at least child friendly, so maybe this isn't the place to take him," I thought, "Huh, I'd really like to see this. I can try letting him run around a bit, and maybe carry him when he gets too rambunctious." Big mistake.
Oh, it was a disaster. After checking the stroller, we had to stand in line. Z wasn't interested in sitting with mommy--no, he wanted toe explore this fascinating place, which meant I got stuck holding a heavy, wiggling, yelling toddler for--wel, it can't have been more than about 10 minutes, but the time dilation effect kicked in. Then we finally got inside the exhibit, and it was crowded enough that letting him run around loose just wasn't going to work. He got separated from me a number of times and I was afraid he'd get trampled. And I certainly couldn't' look at any exhibits while also keeping track of him. So I picked him up, and discovered that was also not going to be an option. I held on grimly, hoping he'd calm down after a bit and I could at least carry him from room to room. No dice. The poor kid screamed the place down. People stared.
I finally got a grip on myself, gave up, and got him out of there, but it was too late. I was That Mom. You know, the one who thinks the whole world should accommodate itself to her kid? The one who drags her kid through an experience he is obviously too young for, regardless of the comfort of either the kid or anyone else around her? Yeah. That one. So I'm making a public confession so I can wallow in my guilt. I done wrong.
To show you that sins are always punished, and the righteous justly rewarded...I played dumb and pretended I hadn't known about the no-stroller rule until after I got there, having already paid for a ticket on line. And a kind manager took completely undeserved pity on me, and exchanged my ticket so I could come back another day. I'm going to try it again Sunday without Z, and hope no one recognizes me. (Maybe I shouldn't wear my hat.)
I regained a few Good Mommy points by taking Z to the Shakespeare Garden and letting him run around to his heart's content for an hour, before getting on the train back downtown. But I'm seriously in the red now.
(Facebook comments here.)
The de Young Museum is having a big, nifty exhibit on King Tut. And I thought I'd like to go. Problem: while strollers are allowed in the main museum, they are not allowed in the special exhibit hall. Instead of thinking, "Z ran around like a maniac at the aquarium, which is at least child friendly, so maybe this isn't the place to take him," I thought, "Huh, I'd really like to see this. I can try letting him run around a bit, and maybe carry him when he gets too rambunctious." Big mistake.
Oh, it was a disaster. After checking the stroller, we had to stand in line. Z wasn't interested in sitting with mommy--no, he wanted toe explore this fascinating place, which meant I got stuck holding a heavy, wiggling, yelling toddler for--wel, it can't have been more than about 10 minutes, but the time dilation effect kicked in. Then we finally got inside the exhibit, and it was crowded enough that letting him run around loose just wasn't going to work. He got separated from me a number of times and I was afraid he'd get trampled. And I certainly couldn't' look at any exhibits while also keeping track of him. So I picked him up, and discovered that was also not going to be an option. I held on grimly, hoping he'd calm down after a bit and I could at least carry him from room to room. No dice. The poor kid screamed the place down. People stared.
I finally got a grip on myself, gave up, and got him out of there, but it was too late. I was That Mom. You know, the one who thinks the whole world should accommodate itself to her kid? The one who drags her kid through an experience he is obviously too young for, regardless of the comfort of either the kid or anyone else around her? Yeah. That one. So I'm making a public confession so I can wallow in my guilt. I done wrong.
To show you that sins are always punished, and the righteous justly rewarded...I played dumb and pretended I hadn't known about the no-stroller rule until after I got there, having already paid for a ticket on line. And a kind manager took completely undeserved pity on me, and exchanged my ticket so I could come back another day. I'm going to try it again Sunday without Z, and hope no one recognizes me. (Maybe I shouldn't wear my hat.)
I regained a few Good Mommy points by taking Z to the Shakespeare Garden and letting him run around to his heart's content for an hour, before getting on the train back downtown. But I'm seriously in the red now.
(Facebook comments here.)