Monday, 22 June 2009

• Strange conversations in the vet office

  As you guys know, my poor Bella had some pretty serious medical scare this past weekend. As a result I was in the vet's office on Friday and on Saturday. While waiting to pick her up on Saturday I had the unlucky break of sitting next to a very strange man. Raised as a good southern girl; I was taught to be kind to everyone, even the idiots. I really feel the thought process behind that is simple. You never know if the weird person next to you is a long lost relative. Better safe than sorry.

  So, I am sitting next to this man. The conversation starts out innocent enough. There was a family waiting with their very large dog to be seen. Mom, Dad, and two children. The girl looked to be around five and the boy was somewhere between two and three. Having had the same wait the day prior with both my young children; I knew exactly what the mother was going through. There are huge dogs everywhere; some not so nice; and nothing at all for the kids to do. At some point the parents had reached their limit and it was decided to take the young children out to wait in the car. The mother picks up the boy and he begins what I view as a typical reaction. He begins to whine and beg to remain inside with his puppy. She heads to the car with him and the man turns to me. "I guess they call that the terrible two's?" I smile and say something like; "yes, but it usually lasts well into their four's."

  Now, there is something worth knowing about me. I am a very friendly person, but I am not an overly friendly person. What I mean is; I make friends very easily, but I do not start up spontaneous conversations with strange men whom happen to be sitting next to me in the vets office. Had that been the mother of the young boy; chances are we would have had a lovely conversation about our children and then moved on. This guy was just making me uncomfortable, but I was too much into my "must be polite" mode to attempt a seating change. Chances were slim I would have found one, but it would have been too impolite to try.

  That one innocent comment turned into one of the strangest encounters I have had in a long time. In the next breath he is telling me how he has custody of his son and he is a real smart mouth. Just recently he had a physical altercation with the son to prove to him that he was the real man of the house. (Okay, thanks so much for sharing. Oh man, where is Whitney when I need her?) I do my usual nod and smile hoping he will stop talking, but no such luck.

  The next comment left me floored. Mind you, I had been sitting next to this man for all of five minutes. He begins to tell me about his transgendered daughter. He disagrees completely with her lifestyle and those of gays and lesbians as well. It is just the "cool thing" to be right now; she doesn't really mean it. (Oh sheesh, I am the most outspoken person in the world for equal rights for ALL and I get stuck next to his closeminded pig). I just kept nodding and smiling wishing that the floor would open up and swallow one of us up.

  He then asks me about my bracelet. I think I have mentioned I wear a blue and yellow rubber thing in honor of Down syndrome awareness. I have had it since the Buddy Walk and I rarely take it off. I cringe, but never one to turn down a chance to educate someone on Down syndrome I briefly explain that my youngest child was born with it and I wore it in honor of her. This was the point I almost got up and walked away, rude or not.

  He begins to tell me what a wonderful person that I am to take on this horrific burden. How selfless I must be to give up my life to care for this challenged child. Okay, A) We don't think of Emily as a burden. B) Selfless hell, that little girl has enriched my world in ways that you can't imagine. I am the luckiest mother in the world. C) Please go back and deal with your children. I have no need for your thoughts.

  Yes, I know that some people do not realize that this life is not the hell that they might imagine. He meant no harm, but he really creeped me out on many levels. Thankfully, Whitney called at just that moment and told me Caleb had to use the restroom. I gladly told her to bring both the kids in and we would take him right away. The moment they came in; Bella's name was called and I got away from the creepy dude.

  One other weird note; as I was waiting with Bella for the vet tech to bring us her leash; I saw the creepy dude peering into the small window on the exam room door. I was just glad to have Bella in my arms. She might be small, but she is one protective dog and had he come near me, she would have bitten his ankles off.

  Okay, I am ready for your weird stories from the doctor's office. I am sure someone can top mine.

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