After reading my blog about the Easter egg fiasco smackdown in our backyard on Bellingham Avenue in North Hollywood my middle daughter reminded me of a few other choice moments of mommy rage. Now I've never considered myself particularly violent, or even aggressive.
When I served for 16 years on the Hart District School Board I was considered the peacemaker between some of the more volatile board members and was also able to handle derogatory irate persons in the audience with aplomb.
But I guess dealing with issues regarding other children is different than doing the same thing for your own. Some kind of alien, or primal defense kicks in and mothers morph into someone else who is aggressive and defensive. Rebecca reminded me of several mommy tiger moments.
There was one time when an older man angrly chastised at me in the elevator at May Company. He must have been daft or not in touch with reality when he pointed his bony finger, first at the four children gathered around me and then at my almost nine month pregnant stomach and said, "How dare you bring another child into this already overcrowded world."
Now, any mother can tell you, by the time your baby filled stomach begins to block the view of your shoes all emotions are on the surface and such a rude statement will not be met with acquiescence or any sort of agreement, much less an apology for producing another child.
I vaguely remember holding the hands of my two younger daughters while the other two stood quietly enjoying the whoopsie-in-the-tummy feeling of being in an elevator and were totally oblivious another human being has wished them off the earth. I took a deep breath and tried very hard to contain the heat and anger I felt...and then let this guy have it with both guns loaded.
"Mister!" I screamed at him, "If you notice my children are well behaved and well dressed." ( I clearly remember the girls hair being tightly pulled into pigtails adorned with wide red satin bows) "And... All...including this one...(I pointed at my bulging stomach and then began to wave my finger in his face) will be educated, have college degrees, contribute to society and most likely pay the social security for your sorry old wrinkled butt!
The elevator doors whooshed open and I left with my kids in tow, and my head held high. I heard the voice of a woman who had observed the interaction from the corner of the enclosed space. She called after me "You tell him girl, this guy is an idiot and should do us all a favor by committing suicide if he thinks the earth is too crowded."
I believe this incident occurred several months after I became tiger mom and rode the back of the man trying to hit our old dog Tuna with a piece of broken fence. That must have been my epiphany moment. After attacking the stranger in our yard, my submissive mold had been broken and rather than endure abuse or judgemental attitudes I began to strike back. It felt pretty good at the time, and as my powers of self defense grew so did my confidence and ability to do the right thing even in the face of adversity.
Since then I've learned to live by one of the sage wisdom's of this century "Dumbledore"...who said, "Difficult times are before us and we must soon have the courage to choose between what is easy, and what is right." I believe we must not only choose what is right, but act on it as well....
When I served for 16 years on the Hart District School Board I was considered the peacemaker between some of the more volatile board members and was also able to handle derogatory irate persons in the audience with aplomb.
But I guess dealing with issues regarding other children is different than doing the same thing for your own. Some kind of alien, or primal defense kicks in and mothers morph into someone else who is aggressive and defensive. Rebecca reminded me of several mommy tiger moments.
There was one time when an older man angrly chastised at me in the elevator at May Company. He must have been daft or not in touch with reality when he pointed his bony finger, first at the four children gathered around me and then at my almost nine month pregnant stomach and said, "How dare you bring another child into this already overcrowded world."
Now, any mother can tell you, by the time your baby filled stomach begins to block the view of your shoes all emotions are on the surface and such a rude statement will not be met with acquiescence or any sort of agreement, much less an apology for producing another child.
I vaguely remember holding the hands of my two younger daughters while the other two stood quietly enjoying the whoopsie-in-the-tummy feeling of being in an elevator and were totally oblivious another human being has wished them off the earth. I took a deep breath and tried very hard to contain the heat and anger I felt...and then let this guy have it with both guns loaded.
"Mister!" I screamed at him, "If you notice my children are well behaved and well dressed." ( I clearly remember the girls hair being tightly pulled into pigtails adorned with wide red satin bows) "And... All...including this one...(I pointed at my bulging stomach and then began to wave my finger in his face) will be educated, have college degrees, contribute to society and most likely pay the social security for your sorry old wrinkled butt!
The elevator doors whooshed open and I left with my kids in tow, and my head held high. I heard the voice of a woman who had observed the interaction from the corner of the enclosed space. She called after me "You tell him girl, this guy is an idiot and should do us all a favor by committing suicide if he thinks the earth is too crowded."
I believe this incident occurred several months after I became tiger mom and rode the back of the man trying to hit our old dog Tuna with a piece of broken fence. That must have been my epiphany moment. After attacking the stranger in our yard, my submissive mold had been broken and rather than endure abuse or judgemental attitudes I began to strike back. It felt pretty good at the time, and as my powers of self defense grew so did my confidence and ability to do the right thing even in the face of adversity.
Since then I've learned to live by one of the sage wisdom's of this century "Dumbledore"...who said, "Difficult times are before us and we must soon have the courage to choose between what is easy, and what is right." I believe we must not only choose what is right, but act on it as well....
No comments:
Post a Comment