The other day hubby DeathLlama and I were at Lowe’s getting crap for a rushed-bathroom remodeling job we’re trying to get done before our first little RuffLlama makes his appearance (due in 4 weeks–a month from today, to be precise). Tired and feeling very pregnant, I hobbled back to the truck to sit and rest while DL went through the register.
I was annoyed on my journey to the truck to see (and hear) 3 middle-school aged boys hanging out on one of the outdoor display bench swings, blasting air horns at cars driving by and YELLING something at them as they go. It sounded to me like “SLOW DOWN!” or something. Both hubby and I teach middle school, so this kind of behavior is not unusual to us–they aren’t being mean, just stupid. Stupid is just a state of mind with middle schoolers, particularly boys. They were being loud, obnoxious, and not in a small way dangerous, though they probably couldn’t see it. I could feel my hormones begin to boil.
I was about to call hubby’s cell and ask him to get management out here to tell these yahoos to knock it off when they blasted their airhorn AGAIN at a car driving by just a few feet in front of them. Next thing I know I am BELTING in my loudest, pissed-off-teacher voice, "GENTLEMEN, KNOCK IT OFF! It is DANGEROUS to be using that horn at PASSING CARS!"
I was met with three very, very stunned faces (and thankfully no pissed off parents)…after a few shell-shocked seconds, the boys sheepishly said, “Yes ma’am.” Then they tried to sell me a chocolate bar–is THAT what they were blasting air horns about??? Nice sales pitch.
After that, I kept hearing them say things like, “Excuse me sir, would you like to buy a chocolate bar?” to people (not cars) passing by. Despite my embarrassment over my hormonally-unrestrained outburst, it seemed to have worked.
Heh heh Doctor Jackson…I’m in a not-too-interested-in-food phase. And believe it or not, chocolate hasn’t been big on my cravings list. If they’d had a fruit/yogurt/granola thingy, or (more weirdly) nachos, I’d have been all over it.
DeathLlama is concerned I am not teaching our son to love chocolate.
As a teacher, you know you don’t have to be pregnant, tired, or cranky to correct strange kids!
I was teaching my kiddos to swim in the pool when three nearing- teenage boys walked by. One threw his empty water bottle into the pool where we were attempting to swim. I grabbed the bottle and tried to hit the kid in the head with it (but missed) and yelled “Put your trash in the trash can!” He looked sheepish, said “Yes, Maam.”, and actually did it. Victory!
I like kids of all ages (yes, even teens), but don’t mind giving them ‘the business’ if they are out of line.
My mother is a teacher, and when I was younger, I would sometimes get embarrassed by her doing this (like the time she saw boys in the mall rolling balls down the escalator stairs.) Now, I agree with her. Teachers who can control a class can control anything, and are quite useful.
I’ve noticed I’ve gotten a lot less…umm…timid…as my pregnancy progresses. ElzaHub thinks it’s hysterical when I snarl at someone in Target for running into me with their cart (yeah, I did that yesterday :o - but in my defense, the b*tch knew she did it, and just kept walking.). I think I’m just at the point where I don’t care if someone else gets pissed at me, I’m just sick of dealing with PEOPLE who have no respect for anyone else in the store.
Ever since I had my first child, if you’re under 18, doing something stupid and/or dangerous, and don’t have a parent obviously nearby, I’m your mom for the time being. My children used to be mortified by this. Now they’re rooting for me, and I suspect I’m rearing the next generation of bossy moms.
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