It’s been way too long since I’ve run across a member of the AIBC. I don’t know if it’s because Noah is older (they’re especially attracted to babies) or that I don’t shop enough anymore (which I highly doubt is the case.)
But I miss them, and that’s a fact.
I mean sure, every time I go to Publix, the elderly check-out ladies always comment on something I’m buying, or ask me if it’s good, or discuss my choices in detail with the person bagging my groceries.
(After which I’m always thankful that I wasn’t purchasing laxatives or Vagisil. Or both.)
But that’s to be expected. They’re told to be nice at Publix, and elderly ladies translate “be nice” as “ask lots of questions about the customer’s purchases!!”
But I still miss the true members of the Awkwardly Intense Busybody Club.
So much so that I almost purposefully went to a store I don’t normally go to after a friend tipped me off that she ran into the AIBC founder now working there.
(Because there were quite a number of people who knew exactly who I was talking about in those first two posts. Because she’s that dedicated to her task.)
But I haven’t, because that seems like cheating.
So I couldn’t have been more thrilled to meet a new member of the AIBC the other day. Sure, she’s got a lot to learn, especially in the area of really dragging out the questioning to a ludicrous level. But I found our conversation to be fantastic nonetheless.
It all started with this puddle of oil in the parking lot at Walgreen’s.
We had to stop by the drug store to get a couple of last minute items before our family vacation, and Ali noticed the above Eighth Wonder of the World.
She pretty much flipped her little lid about how unbelievably magically cool it was to find a rainbow puddle, even after I explained to her that it was caused by car drippings.
As we were walking into the store and by the young cashier, Ali was still gushing, and said with all the excitement that a blog-raised child could possibly muster,
“I SO wish I had my iPad with me so that I could have taken a picture of that rainbow puddle!!”
The cashier giggled, and we walked on to get our items.
We arrived to the counter to check out, Noah on one side of me and giddy about the vast amounts of candy within his arm’s reach and Ali on the other side still floating about that rainbow puddle.
They made an adorable little pair, I really must say.
And so did the cashier.
“They are SO cute!”
I laughed and said, “Thanks! I think so.”
Then she raised her eyebrow, stared me down and said pointedly, “Are they bad?”
:: blink ::
:: blink ::
…because my six year old wouldn’t understand that you just asked if she was a bad person?
…because you’re in the market for new children and considering mine as an option?
…because they’re so cute that they can’t be good too or it would be an unfair amount of The Kid Lottery Luck for me?
I have no idea.
But I assured her that no, my children are not bad.
I was really missing the Michaels Lady posts!! Glad the club has a new member :) I had one recently that must have migrated north… It was about a 6-8 yr. old girl I ran across at a consignment sale that was touching Carter on his hands and questioning me nonstop about him, when I finally asked her to please not touch his hands (her mother finally pulled her away at this point) especially since he’d just gotten over being sick- to which she replied: “yeah, I got sick and threw up in the car.” Nasty. Thanks kid.
Nice – she’s one in training! I especially like the throwing up part. Wow.
I have two biological children that look a lot like me (blonde hair and blue eyes). I have two foster children. Easy E is half African and half Aboriginal. Kcup is Aboriginal.
Pizza guy comes to my door.and sees Easy E behind me. “Is that boy yours?”
“Yes.”
Kcup comes around the corner and approaches the door.
“Is that one yours too?”
“Yes.”
…
(Nods at Easy E) “He must look more like his father.”
Yeah, because *clearly* the Aboriginal baby looks more like his fair mother!
I only have a daughter, blonde hair & light eyes where I have dark brown hair, but I still get that comment about how she “must” look like her father. Even though she’s biologically mine, I told one woman I had no idea who she looked like because she was adopted because the lady was being OBNOXIOUS. And my daughter was only a year at the time so I didn’t mentally scar her for life :)
Ha! People are so weird.
Dang! You’d think that people had never heard of adoption or fostering, huh?
What a question! I don’t know how you can keep a straight face around these people. Apparently my composure needs some work.
That is so bizarre. It wouldn’t occur to me to ask someone if their children were “bad”, even if they were running up and down the aisles knocking things off of shelves. I don’t think the AIBC would take me. :P
I just love the AIBC posts! Go ahead and cheat with the other store!
Ha! I’ll see what I can do…
What the heck? LOL I don’t even have a response for this one.
Oh my goodness!! Wow. Just…Wow.
WHAT?! Who asks that?! Oh my word…I’m laughing & shaking my head all at once. And I recently had a run-in with a “club member” who is a Publix employee. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Publix & all that they do to reach out to customers but the guy carrying out my groceries noticed I had a car seat in my van & asked me how old my child was (I was alone on this trip) & proceeded to tell me how good of a mother I was because I still had his carseat rear-facing & how he had recently seen someone who had their child’s seat forward-facing & it was such a shame……..we’re even judged by the Publix carry-out guy who I’m 97% sure doesn’t have any of his own children……
I actually can’t stand Publix – it stresses me out!! And nosy bag boys would only make it worse.
No she did not!!! In front of Ali???? And Noah??? I am speecless.
I ran into a member yesterday at Hobby Lobby! I’m so glad to know the official title of their committee now. She was a fellow customer and asked if my baby was a boy or girl then came over to look at him. As she was walking away, about halfway down the aisle, she turned around and asked what his name was. I replied, “Logan” and she said “Oh. I thought that was a girl’s name.” And just stared at me. I was so caught off guard I didn’t say anything back and just stared at her. Finally she said “I guess it can work for either” and I said “I hope so….” and resumed my shopping.
Yup, now that you have a baby, you’ll meet an exponential amount of them.
And can I say, Logan is SO a boy’s name.
I don’t think I have EVER heard anyone ask that question. WoW. But then again, I have heard several overly inquisitive questions posed to parents, I guess people don’t really care about how some things shouldn’t be asked if you aren’t super close to the person?