Hello folks!
Sorry...long time, no blog. I've been so busy with the store and updating my newest blog which documents our surrogacy journey - I promise to try to do better! Please visit our surrogacy blog here and follow us - we love sharing our story with as many people as possible and want to educate everyone we can reach on the gestational surrogacy process to help readers understand gestational surrogacy, how such science actually works, and how far from unusual gestational surrogacy is. Check it out - it's a great read and we update it often!
Anyway, this evening I endured a wretched experience that I just had to share with my friends in cyber space! It's a doozie...feel free to stop reading now and grab an adult beverage...don't worry...I'll be here waiting when you return!
You're probably wondering what has my panties in a bunch, so, I'll cut to the chase. Tonight I took Nick to his tae kwon do class, and, I was one of the few parents who chose to stay for the class as I have to for the next four weeks while he recovers from his concussion. It was actually a big day for us - this was his first day back in tae kwon do since he developed a concussion two weeks ago. We were looking forward to him receiving the red belt he tested for just a few days before his injury, and, we walked into the studio filled with excitement over Nick's latest accomplishment.
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| Nick removing his purple belt and replacing it with his new red belt. Congrats Nick! |
The class began with Nick's belt ceremony. I was so thrilled - as someone always manages to block my view of Nick receiving his newest belt, the owner of the martial arts studio offered the sacred mat to me for picture taking. So, I slipped off my flip-flops and crawled onto the mat with my iPhone so I could take pictures of this special moment.
After Nick received his new belt, I returned to my seat to watch his class and make sure he was feeling okay. As I was walking back to my seat I could hear another mother screaming at her child about "how stupid she is" for mixing up her chest protector with another child's. This was an honest, common mistake. This child is about five years old and a student in the school's white belt class; Surely she's just adapting to even being responsible for her gear - at least she remembered to grab a chest protector, even if it wasn't hers! If I had only a nickel for every time my children have mixed up some sort of sporting apparel or gear, I'd be rich - it just happens so often. And, you know, isn't locating missing items all a part of parenting? Anyway, the chest protector issue was resolved immediately, and, this crisis ended about five minutes after it began.
Now, for whatever reason, karate mom's rage continued, and, the instructors on the mat were becoming visibly upset. Mommy was screaming at her child at the top of her lungs, and, the students in Nick's class couldn't hear a word their instructors were saying because of this woman's outburst. The parents who were there to watch Nick's class all looked at each other in shock at what was unfolding. To make matters worse, the owner of the studio was in a closed-door meeting with another parent, so, he had no idea what was occurring in his place of business.
Wanting to be tolerant, I bit my lip and tried to watch Nick's class. Unfortunately, there was nothing to watch as the instructors could not get past their opening stretches due to this woman's scream-fest. Finally, I had enough when she screamed to her children, "Jesus Christ shut up!!!" Now, the first thought that popped into my mind was my faith - I am a God-loving Christian, and, that exclamation was disgusting in its own right. But the fact that it was directed towards such young children? Appalling...my patience disappeared when my Lord's name was used in vain to scream at scared, young little girls over something as minor as a gear mix-up. Not to mention, I don't speak like that in front of my own children - why would I want them to hear it in a school that highly promotes discipline?
So, I stood up from my chair and turned around to face karate mom. I very calmly said, "Excuse me, they're trying to have a class." That's it - I said nothing more and turned back around to return to my seat. I figured any adult with an ounce of common sense would realize it was time to stop screaming, but not this mom. Instead, she retorted with, "EXCUSE ME, I'M JUST TRYING TO GET MY SHIT TOGETHER!!!" The other parents and I exchanged shocked glances at each other, but, we all chose to ignore the nonsense. After all, I am friends with the owner of the studio, and not to mention, I figured my son would be mortified watching his mother get into a shouting match with a clear lunatic.
Unbelievably, Mommy decided she still wasn't finished yelling. She went on to scream at her young children, "We're never coming back to this place full of asshole parents." At that point, my new-found patience disappeared again, and, I responded to karate mom with, "Now I know you didn't just call me an asshole." Trust me - I am a very sweet, loving person. However, I have a heart of gold and a spine of steel - if you bark at me, rest assured I will bite back.
After I kindly dropped my hint to karate mom that she should not refer to me as an "asshole" she finally grabbed her poor kids and drug them out of the martial arts studio, forcefully pushed them into her car, and drove away looking a tad worse than miserable.
Immediately after, the owner of the studio came out of his office and I explained what happened. I wanted him to know who the "asshole" parent was in case karate mom tried to complain to him. Needless to say, he was not happy, and, he told me I should have followed this woman outside! Of course I wouldn't do such a thing - maybe in my heyday, but certainly not at the age of 35. If anything, I'm too vain and didn't want to get punched in the face.
In the end, the owner of the martial arts studio chose to call Mommy to tell her she called the wrong parent an "asshole" and that she owed me an apology. That, I thought was funny, but this entire debacle? Disgusting.
First of all, there is the obvious problem here - what mother screams such obscenities at such young children? Secondly, what mother screams said obscenities in front of other children such as my son and his classmates who were *trying* to prepare for their next belt test. And finally (and perhaps most ironic), who on earth would yell such obscenities in a martial arts studio where a black belt is standing everywhere you look?! I may have a brass set, but even I wouldn't stir up trouble knowing I was surrounded by people who can break a pile of bricks with their hands and make it seem painless!
So, in summary, I must ask, "What is wrong with some people?" Why on earth would someone behave that way? How is someone, let alone a mother, so disrespectful to her own children, the students who were subjected to her foul language, parents, and instructors covered in black belts? What on earth made this mother feel entitled to scream curse words without giving it a second thought?
Sadly, I'm pretty sure there are tons of parents out there just like karate mom. I like to refer to such behavior as a false sense of entitlement - for whatever reason, this mother and others like her feel it's just their world and we're all fortunate enough to be living in it.
I am curious to see what your thoughts are on this debacle. Please post your comments below - I can't wait to hear from my readers, especially those who are parents. So, post away! Please remember you won't see your comment post immediately, but, I am good at approving comments and I promise I will approve all comments as soon as I receive them!
Cheers!
Suzi
