Wednesday, September 16, 2009

dear lady,

*warning: i'm still somewhat fuming about this incident, so reader beware. it's not nice.*

dear fat, ugly lady we saw at the blood lab this morning,

i hate you. i think you should burn in the deepest, darkest abyss. you are very mean.

did you think it was okay to mutter under you breath today {definitely knowing i could hear you} about how i should listen to my child and just give her some attention? did you think that because you saw about two snippets of our lives this morning, you know exactly how to fix whatever you think our problem is?

did you know that five seconds before your extremely large self waddled through the door this morning i had been reading to my child while she lovingly pinched, hit and scratched me? did you know that i patiently took her abuse while warning her that if she continued to do it i could not have her sit on my lap?

i bet you felt pretty dumb when i turned to you and said, "really? really!?" right to your face after i heard your profound mumbles. in fact, i KNOW you felt pretty dumb because you wouldn't look me in the eye for the rest of the time we were there.

you wouldn't look me in the eye when you sat across from that sweet little child screaming her lungs out because the tech couldn't find her vein, so she poked and prodded and poked and prodded until she finally had to poke the other arm to get the sample.

i'll bet you didn't even think that no matter how hard i tried to get her to stop, maybe she was just mad because she had to go without food for the last 12 hours. from the looks of you, i can't imagine the last time you went 12 hours without food.

i bet you have no idea how many times that little girl has had to go to the doctor's office and blood lab...and how many times her mom has had to sit there and watch. you probably can't guess that she has been poked numerous times to try and figure out why she struggles so much from day to day. i bet you didn't even think that she might be screaming and hitting and scratching and pinching because she HATES that place...almost as much as i hate you.

i'll bet i CAN guess why you were sitting in the chair, but i won't. because that's just rude.

cute little leah with her two poke reminders

17 comments:

Rach said...

You totally should have hit her.
That is my vote!

Next time, call me and I will do your dirty work...although from what is sounds like, you are quite capable! I am so glad you called her out on it. People that don't have little ones (even if they used to..I am sure they forget) don't know what it's like.
You are great Maren.
Leah is an amazing little bundle!

whitney said...

oh maren, i'm sorry. people have problems. thanks for venting to us, though, because you write a dang funny hate letter. :)

Uffens Family said...

Oh how I wish she could read that!!!!!
While very funny, your letter was quite profound! Why is it that anyone thinks they know better when they have no idea what is really going on! While I don't think I have ever been so heineous (no idea how to spell that)...good reminder of how NOT to be!

LTC said...

Oh that makes me want to cry Maren...

Lant Family said...

I loved reading that --but I feel so sorry for you and cute little leah

Morgan said...

wow. i hate when people assume that they know your kid better than you. i love that you said something to her. i am always too chicken, but always wish i did in retrospect. i think sometimes people need to know that they are being inappropriate. poor leah. what a trooper.

Unknown said...

i'll come help you double eagle drop her. no one messes with my niece dotes. fatty!

Jen said...

You handled that really well. It is the easy and cowardly thing to sit back and criticize. Now that my kids are out of that stage, when I see mom's struggling in public, I always put my most genuine smile on my face and offer help. It is a tough thing to be dealing with that in public - mom's need encouragement! We've all been there (well - most of us; this lady doesn't sound like she has). Chin up - you did the right thing. You do know your child and I will remember this example and message. :-)

Claire said...

I loved this post! Sometimes, I swear people should just be slapped right across the face (leaving a hand mark of course). I am so sorry you had to go through that.Just the other day I was standing in line and a young mom's new born was crying. To me it was heart warming, the old lady infront of me leaned over and said, "I think that is child abuse." Seriously?! Have you never had children? The nerve! Your little Leah is beautiful...I love her new bangs!

carolee said...

people are awful sometimes!

Karen Hauley said...

Sounds like this lady needs an epiphany moment like we had that day in Smith's after chemotherapy and I realized that everyone in the store was probably struggling with SOMETHING. With this lady, I would have been tempted to ask for her contact information so I could submit her name to The Biggest Loser.

Blogging By Brittany said...

I am very impressed with the way you handled that Maren. People really amaze me sometimes. I don't know why so many assume they think they know everything about everyone else. I'm sorry. You guys are great!!! We really love ya!

chloe said...

It's amazing to me how stupid some people are. I loved your "dear you"! Awesome!

Rebecca Parker said...

some people are so clueless in public?! sorry you were @ the receiving end, when she should've instead sat back to watch & learn...no doubt you put her nurturing skills to shame!!

Porters said...

oh maren...I love it. You said what we all think when stuff like that happens. Poor little Leah. First off- I hate getting poked too. But she is a lucky girl to have a momma who will stick up for her and see things her way instead of being embarassed or apologetic for the others. :)

maryirene said...

you go girl for letting it out. that sounds absolutely terrible. the nerve of some people. how dare they assume things and say things like that. i'm so sorry.
again, you go girl for telling your story!

Amelia said...

Love the letter! Send it to her! ;)
I would rather be gored by a bull than an angry mom. I tell people to watch it or "Jumbo" the crazed mother elephant of Dumbo will come out. No one messes with my kids. I love that you called her on it too. People need that sometimes. Um HELLO!!! I can HEAR YOU!