Come Rain Or Come Shine

At the library, making a movie selection.
(I know, ironic.)
(C) Jay Meehan, 2012.

So, my question today is "how do YOU handle frustrating situations and people?"

And when I say handle, I mean, "how do you respond when people are less than kind to you?"

Maybe an example will help.

Our family goes to the library about once a week.

We love the library.

Love the building. Love our library cards. Love the books. Love the DVDs. Love the CDs.

Love. Everything.

But ... last week when we went to the library, I wasn't feelin' the love.

You see, we had some fines to pay. We'd checked out books before the Survivor Reunion in Hollywood and neglected to return them before we left.

And between 6 kids and 2 parents, we'd racked up some fines.

Nothing major, but a few dollars.

Now, some of our kids (usually Zu and Lu) like to pay their own fines--because it makes them feel like a grown-up. And usually, I let them pay them--because I like my kids to practice being grown-ups.

But, on this occassion, it really was MY fault that their books were late. The whole family was in California; it wasn't possible for them to return their books.

So, I wanted to pay all of their fines.

Period.

So, imagine my surprise when the library clerk looks at our whole crew/family and says to me,

"Are these, uh, different kids with you? Because you can't pay fines for them unless you are a guardian." [PS: The emphasis on different was hers, not mine.]

To which I said,

"Ooooh. I'm really sensitive to the word "different." You see, these are MY children. I'm their mom. I just want to pay their overdue fines."

To which she said,

"Well, I'll need to see some ID, because you can't pay fines for people who aren't related to you?"

What the what?

Someone help me.

I'm not usually a cranky person (in public, at least--ha ha ha).

BUT, on this occassion, I really felt like I should call the police and have this woman arrested.

For real.

And for what?

I don't know, impersonating a human being?

How am I supposed to grow and learn and find JOY on Planet E with people who have such NARROW views of the world?

How am I supposed to raise my children to have self-esteem when their librarian is calling them, "different"?

What in the honk?

So, tell me, how do you handle difficult situations, people, interactions?

Me? How did I handle it?

Lemme tell you ...

After I'd imagined slapping the woman--I said, IMAGINED--a few times, I came to my senses.

And I realized, had she known how hurtful her attitude was to our family, she probably wouldn't have said what she said.

And, had she known how ridonkulous it sounds to call any other human being "different" in a derrogatory way, she probably wouldn't have said what she said.

And, had she known anyone who's family was created as a result of adoption, she probably wouldn't have asked me to PROVE I was their mom.

So, I decided to just be kind ...

and then, blog about it.

Did I mention how much I love blogging?

Have a beautiful day.


PS: I found this on Pinterest.com and it made me laugh.

And while I wouldn't call anyone a moron, it still made me laugh.

Karen Carpenter would have loved it, too, no?

****

PS:

Happy Birthday to Jay's Birthmom--La.

Is it possible that our journey together began more than 17 years ago? How can that be possible? I feel 17 myself. You?

And, to Papaya's BirthGrandma, Lorraine.

We love you both so much!