Jeremy has had 1 & the same pair of shorts since I've dated/been engaged/married to him (about 7 years). Somehow they are still in good shape but even so we thought it would be fun to get him a couple new pairs so off we went to the mall this morning to take advantage of JCPenny's Father's Day sale.
Jeremy went to the store & I took the kids to the play place in the middle of the mall. So over the last 5 months there have been a lot of looks & comments about the size & young-ness of our family. You kind of get used to it. But today I was annoyed. Walking back to meet up with Jeremy this woman gave me "the look" that I've come to pretend I don't notice. She stopped & said "Oh. My. Goodness." Then gave me the look that somehow we have some kind of mutant family. Whatever. Immediately after that this old man walked by & remarked to his wife/girlfriend "Look at all them kids...I bet she isn't even married." HELLO! He was standing right next to me when he said it, there was no way I could've missed what he said. And I've misplaced my wedding band.
I know I shouldn't let it get to me but sheesh. Like 4 kids is really that many, come on. There are lots more super nice people that coo at our babies, say our big boys are cute & remark that we are blessed. That's how I see it & I should just focus on that, right? :)
11 comments:
Just say, "jealousy doesn't suit you well."
Ah, my dear friend Megan-- I am sorry to say that the looks and stares & comments have just begun... I think the worst comment I got was this last year when a man behind me in the grocery line loudly accused me of using and abusing WIC...because I gave the cashier some coupons...that one didn't roll well with me...but! You know you are doing the right thing and that you did it the right way:) Smile & stand up for yourself.:) Usually, when people make comments I will say something like, "Aren't they absolutely beautiful?" or as always, I get the "You must have your hands full" comment and I say back, "I sure do! They are full of lots and lots of love. Aren't we blessed? I can't believe how absolutely lucky we are." People don't know how to react when you come back with something positive and it makes them realize how terrible they sound. Your kids will hear you say these glowing things about them, and ultimately, I believe, it leads to their desire to behave and do better in public, not to mention the positive impact it has on self-esteem. Good luck! Here is a blog entry of mine from a few years ago. http://emilatt.blogspot.com/2008/07/how-many-children-do-you-have.html
Megan! I'm so sorry!!!! That stinks :(
Those comments are always so awkward because the opinions shared are so presumptuous. Its not like you are engaging these random strangers in conversation. ugh.
You already know how much WE all LOVE your beautiful family!!! :)
That is so annoying. People are just jealous that you have four cute babes and that want to be mean. It does stink to hear those comments constantly. If it makes you feel better, my pediatrician was shocked at how young I was with two small kids and that I stayed home. Yeah, I think we going switch docs.
If anyone says anything else just pop them in the head.
I am sure it won't be as bad for me living in Utah but I can't believe how many people have said "well, now you are done right?" or my favorite from my aunt was "well now that you have 4 maybe you can slow down a little bit!" It is crazy what people think they can say!
Remember Pres. Hinckley's answer to the newsman, Mike Wallace when Mr. Wallace accused Pres. Hinckley of having "dottering old fools" as leaders of our church? (I think he averaged all the ages of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve). Anyway - in typical Pres. Hinckley fashion he quipped, "Isn't it WONDERFUL?" The he went on to explain that we have men of experience and knowledge, who have spent a lifetime learning and leading and guiding. He was always so positive, and in the meantime, he made a life-long friend of Mike Wallace!! Emily's right, be positive, it will completely disarm them.
My mom used to get comments like that all the time when she took all six of us out and about. Her favorite retort was, "Oh, this is just a few of them. I left the others at home." Then she would just turn and walk away. We loved the looks on people's faces when she said that. People are funny. I guess we can all learn a good lesson from this. You never know just what is going on in someone's life. Knowbody know just how happy you are Megan. Don't let it bug you.
People suck, but Jeremy IS a mutant, so...
people are so funny. I'd just laugh at them.
You are not alone. I usually take those opportunities to brag about how wonderful they are and just smile! You should have seen the looks I got when I boarded the plane to fly home with all 5 children by my lonesome! As I boarded the plane this man looked up at me with raised eyebrows! I look at him and smiled while saying,"Don't be afraid sir. They are really good!" He said," I'm not afraid for me. I'm afraid for you!" I happily assured him that we would be wonderful and it lightened the mood of the rest of the folks around him that had their eyebrows up to their hairline too! :)
Yeah, comments like that stink. Lee has always been tempted to say what Joy's mom said. Thankfully we haven't had any rude comments...yet. I have heard "You have your hands full" so many times!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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