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Go Nigel, Go!
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Would You Like To Buy My Monkeys?
Oct
28
The Unlikeable
by Leslie
Have you ever met someone that just rubbed you the wrong way from the moment you first saw them?
It doesn’t often happen to me. I like most people I meet. But yesterday, it happened. I spotted a person I didn’t like from the first glance.
We were at the first of two parties Julia was scheduled to attend when I laid my eyes on a very annoying mother and her child. I was standing, with my mother, at an inflatable bounce house watching Julia as she jumped inside. The very annoying mother approached with her daughter, who promptly removed her shoes and hopped in the bounce house to join the fun. The bounce house was pretty full and the kids were rowdy, as kids at a party can often be. They were having a great time. The very annoying mother began to complain about the bounce house being full to whoever was in earshot. She stated that her child had just arrived and that those who had been there longer should get out to make room.
As if on cue, Julia decided the merry-go-round nearby looked like even more fun and slid out of the bounce house. I quickly grabbed her as she was about to run off without shoes, wrestled them onto her and let her loose to cavort. She rode the merry-go-round until the bounce house looked good again, and then she ran back to it. Again, I had to grab her before she got in with her shoes on, slipped them off and let her go forth to bounce.
The very annoying mother’s daughter was still in there, although the very annoying mother was not within sight.
The bounce house was still pretty active and the kids were still rowdy. And then, we heard a cry. My mom said, “Uh oh, someone’s hurt.”
It was the annoying mother’s daughter.
The annoying mother arrived on the scene and pulled her daughter from the bounce house. There were no obvious injuries, but the daughter was visibly upset. She wailed. She sobbed. She hyperventilated. The annoying mother gave each bystander a hard stare. Then, she went away and was completely forgotten.
Until she arrived at the second party of the day.
The hostess introduced us and the annoying mother said, “We’ve already met, kind of.”
I said, “Yes! You were at the ballet party earlier.”
Then she said, “Yeah. Your daughter hit mine in the head.”
My immediate reaction was, “What the fuck are you talking about, bitch?” But I didn’t say that out loud. Instead I said, “Really? Hmmm? I was with my daughter through the whole party and I didn’t catch that. I was there, though, when your daughter got hurt in the bounce house.”
I’m not even sure what her reply was. I was too busy putting an evil voodoo curse on her when she walked away.
How dare she suggest my daughter had hurt hers? She wasn’t there when it happened. How did she come to that conclusion? And how dare she make a judgement about my parenting like that? As if I would allow my daughter to hurt someone, even by accident, without making her apologize?
A little later, I took Julia near the bonfire to make her own candle. We had just arrived at the candle-making table with one of Julia’s friends and his mom when the very annoying mom approached and began barking out orders, “No, no, no. You don’t do it like that. You’ve got to do this first.”
After a few seconds, I pulled Julia away from the table and said to the very annoying mother, “Oh,we must be in your way. We’ll stand back while you do what you need to do to finish. That’ll give me a minute to read the directions.”
Once she was out of the way, we did our thing. Then, I placed our foil tin of wax shavings near the fire to melt. Julia was sitting on a bale of hay with her friend when the very annoying mother’s daughter approached her. She showed Julia her candle. Julia began to stick her finger in it and I protested, “Julia! Do not put your finger in there, honey.”
The very annoying mother hissed, “It’s not hot. My daughter wouldn’t have it if it was hot.”
I said, “I just don’t want my daughter to ruin your daughter’s candle.”
And then I fought the urge to jam a hot dog stick through her eye.
Eventually, the presence of the very annoying mother was too much to bear. I ushered Julia on to another activity and opted to return for the candle later. But the very annoying mother was just a few steps behind us.
A short time later, we found ourselves at the swing set. Julia was swinging next to one of her playgroup friends when the very annoying mother and her daughter arrived. The daughter wanted the swing Julia was swinging on. The very annoying mother advised her daughter that she would just have to wait on Julia. The daughter proceeded to whine and cry and cry and whine while her mother kindly reminded her that Julia was on the swing and therefore in control of just how long she would have to wait when my head was about to explode. I stopped Julia’s swing and asked her to please play with something else, which she happily did.
She walked two whole steps and got on THE OTHER SWING.
And that was the last we saw of the very annoying mother, who will now be added to my list of people to give a wedgie. Hers will be atomic.
Comments
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Ooooooh. Aaaaah.
That stinks that it seems like you two may be running in the same child-activity-circle for a while. Sheesh… you held your tongue longer than I could have. Some people’s mommies…
I admire how you managed to stay in control and not KILL THE BITCH!!!! I would have surely said something totally regrettable …. Good on Julia for being such a sweet wee girl….. must take after her mother. (((BIG HUGS TO YOU BOTH)))
Forgot to say, like you, I hardly ever take an instant dislike to anyone, but there are JUST SOME PEOPLE eh? Glad I don’t have to run into that particular mother.
O.M.G.!!!!!
Well, lucky her for her you have great self control. I am sure I would have lost my cool.
The nerve of some people!
Your self control is amazing!
Wow. Just. Wow.
I would have had a hard time not kicking her in the face.
With all of those pregnancy hormones raging and you STILL managed nice and polite? VAM (very annoying Mother) is lucky she escaped with only a post behind her back and all of your fans sending her mean vibes through the sphere. What a witch. And sadly, her daughter will turn out JUST like her. Someday, it’ll be Julia and VAM junior at the parties.
Yeah we’ve experienced something like this except that is was a DAD!
Was she purposefully following you around to make you miserable or did she prey on other innocent party goers as well? Kudos to you for holding your tongue and even more so for having such a well behaved little girl!
Wow - good for you to keep your cool! I am sorry for the way annoying mother acted toward you and Julia but what really makes me sad is the example she is setting for her daughter. I hope she realizes what she’s doing and makes some changes or a few years from now she’s in for a “Cat’s in the Cradle” moment.
Yeah, I don’t like her either. Super-atomic if you please.
She must be from around here. I am so sorry you were exposed to her and I am SO impressed that you didn’t lose it on her. I would have.
Just where can I get some of those atomic wedgies? They just don’t take to bitch-slaping around here, but maybe I can get away with something like this!!
Congrats to you for keeping your cool. And as my grandmomma used to say, you just can’t like everyone in the world so don’t even try!
How’d you get so nice and stuff? I would have totally punched her in the head.
The annoying mother must be related to the Butthead in our neighborhood.
Oh my goodness, Leslie, we have TONS of these in Ann Arbor. My sympathies. Yikes.
I am guessing that child will NOT be invited to your daughters birthday? LOL . You have way more patience than I would. If it was me that was at that party, I am thinking that woman would be walking around with a hotdog stick in her eye!