I was out walking with Jack today, and after being passed by a few people in cars, I wondered how many of them thought Jack was my kid. The thought had crossed my mind last time we went for a walk, but I didn't think much about it.
Today after we'd been at the park for a few minutes, an elderly couple with their grandkids showed up. Jack kept wanting to play by them (I think he really wanted to play with them, but he didn't know how), and the woman started talking to me a little, asking how old he was, telling me how old her grandkids were, etc. After they'd left the swings, the thought popped into my head again that they might think this was my kid. And I thought about how people are always thinking I'm like, 16. And I just knew then that everyone I had passed thought I was an unwed teenage mother who had dropped out of high school. And this is where I found myself, pushing Jack on the swing while the couple was on the other end of the swings.
Jack: I got a haircut.
Me: Yeah? When?
Jack: Mama cut it when I was watching MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUSE!
Me: Oh, YOUR MOM cut your hair for you?
Jack: MICKEY MOOOUUUUUUSE!
Me: That was nice of YOUR MOM to cut your hair for you, wasn't it?
Jack: I want a snack.
Me: Well, we could go back and you could have a pretzel, then when YOUR PARENTS get home you could have lunch.
Etc, etc, etc, making sure to double the volume of any words relating to his parents.
I should probably stop worrying about what complete strangers think of me.
Monday, September 14, 2009
And now for something completely different.
Posted by Jodi at 7:37 PM
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2 comments:
Oh, I remember feeling that way when I would take my brother places. He was only 11 years younger, but when I was in early college and he was in early elementary school, I always went out of my way to talk a lot about "mom and dad."
And sadly, I did cut his hair. I'm glad he's not old enough to be mad at me for it because . . . well, it's pretty bad.
And seriously, how badly does the kid need some friends? Or a brother to play with?
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