Mean Old Biddy

~

This post was supposed to be a letter to my son for him when he was a teenager. HOWEVER, I am still stunned and amazed by something that happened to me today...

Boyo and I were at the post office. We stopped by right after his 2 year well child visit, where he had gotten a vaccine. So he was not in the best of moods. Added to that, there was a line. I should have turned around to leave. But I had a letter I had to send certified... so I got in line.

Boyo did not. He ran over to the corner of the post office, where the blinds were. And he proceeded to sit down and run his car in and out of the blinds. I made a half-hearted attempt to get him to come back to me, since it seemed like I should make my son stand with me if I want to win that Mom of the Year Award.

My son's response was a vigorous "NOOOOOOO!" at the top of his lungs.

I promptly apologized to the people in line, went over to my son, and gave him a stern talking to before I got back in line. I left him in the corner. He was five feet away from me and he was happy. I wasn't tempting fate again.

I finished my business, collected my son, and told him, since he had been mostly good, that he could run on the sidewalk. A woman (who had been in line when my son yelled no) walked by me and I smiled at her. She responded by sniffing at me, glared at my son, and mumbled under her breathe, "That is not acceptable. He is NOT CUTE."

I came to a standstill. Not cute? My son is freaking adorable. Yes, he had a snotty moment in the post office - he was a two year old in the post office. What were you expecting? For him to stand docilely by my side? He's two, not six.

Several responses flew threw my head. The first involved a lot of four letter words. The second involved an apology (even though it grated that I was going to offer one) - but when I opened my mouth to issue it, something else came out of my mouth, surprising both me and the mean old biddy:

"He's two," I said sweetly, with a smile on my face. "What's your excuse for being a stinker? You have a merry Christmas."

It was one of those perfect moments when I had the exact right thing to say at the exact right time. As I led my son to the car, I could hear her sputtering behind me.

I'll win Mother of the Year next year. I'm too tired this year.