When Do We Get a Parental Hallpass?

First, thank you all SO much for your support on Friday. I am happy to report, other than a few minor squabbles, things between Declan and me are on the uptake. Maybe he heard me.

So. Next.

What I want to talk about today comes from a conversation this morning with my coworker James. See, James takes the day off every April to attend the home opener for the Rockies. A game that is usually overflowing, which brings out the best and worst of people.

On Friday, he had three empty seats to the left of him. Which were promptly filled with a mom and her two kids. Cool.

Seats which, after some time, were set upon by another couple who believed they belonged to *them.*

Usher called, tickets pulled out, mass confusion. Finally, the usher points out that the mom was in the wrong place. She had a ticket for the third seat, but her other two seats were several sections away.

Oops.

The mom stuck out her chin and said, “Well, we needed to sit together! What am I supposed to do with my kids?”

Here’s a thought: Plan ahead and buy tickets together? Negotiate with people around you and get seats together instead of sitting there and letting the usher screw with your tickets for 10 minutes?

It gets better – the USHER was kind enough to go work out a deal for them in the sold-out stadium, asked people to move around for them, got them settled together. Above and beyond the call of duty, in my opinion. Well done, Usher Man.

Here’s the thing.

As a parent, I expect my kids to be accepted most places. I expect a little common courtesy to help me open the door when I have a baby in my arms. I expect people to have a little patience when a toddler is throwing a tantrum.

I do NOT, however, expect people to deal with my lack of planning.
I do NOT expect people to clean up my mess.

And I am sad that lady is teaching her kids exactly that.

Update: Just got a gentle email reminder that I had a bunch of support when I was a “bad” parent on Friday, so maybe I should cut this lady some slack. Ouch. Truth.

This article has 6 comments

  1. zipper

    I’m thinking the two are different things, Aimee. But always good to keep perspective.

  2. Kim Hosey

    I totally agree. When I flew with my son, I couldn’t get two seats right next to each other. I hoped and crossed my fingers that I could cajole a fellow passenger into swapping seats (one did; I bought him movie headphones and a drink for his trouble), but I didn’t COUNT on it. We had the “We might have to sit a few seats apart and we’re not going to cry about it” conversation all the way to the plane, just in case. And I HAD tried to plan.

    Yeah. Kids are the responsibilities of their parents. Not taking responsibility = not doing your job entirely.

  3. crafttendencies

    I totally think your argument with Declan last week and the situation at the game are completely different. Especially when you consider how you each responded – you apologized and taught him a valuable lesson; she inconvenienced/disrupted others without apology. Even if split seating was the only option left when she bought her tickets, she should have thought ahead and made an effort to sort things out herself before the other ticket holders showed up.

  4. Aimee Greeblemonkey

    There ya go, making me feel all better again. You guys rule.

    By the way, Dex and I had a GREAT night tonight. We both are trying so hard to communicate better. It’s nice.

  5. Anonymous

    I agree. Sometimes parents go way to far! Annoying. – m

  6. Sizzle

    Is she just a dolt who didn’t realize she wasn’t buying three tickets together or did she purposely buy three tickets, two of which were in a different location? That’s what I’m wondering. People make mistakes. I can forgive mistakes. But if she was purposely trying to shirk the system, that leaves someone who is following the rules to pick up for her slack. And that pisses me off. I’m hoping it was just a mistake. Luckily that usher was very generous!

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