Mrs. HM does not shy away from calling a rumpushole a rumpushole. While the guy I encountered on Tuesday in 10Box might not be a textbook-variety rumpushole, something about his behavior led me to pointing the rumpushole finger.
I got out of T-Hoe and walked across the front doors of the store, to reach a cart that somebody had left on the sidewalk. It was closer than hiking to the cart corral inside the store. A guy walked down the sidewalk in my direction, carrying a baby in a car seat. I first thought he might be heading for the cart I wanted, but he grabbed another one closer to him, farther down the sidewalk.
As sometimes (annoyingly) happens, I encountered that dude at the end of every aisle. He was mid-20s, in jeans and a plaid flannel shirt. The baby looked around 6 months old. A smiling little thing with a head of dark hair, holding some toy and putting it in his/her mouth. Here's the thing...
That adorable baby was sitting in its car seat in the main section of the cart. Facing the child seat and handle of the cart. But The Dude was pulling the cart from the front! What kind of psycho does THAT? It's awkward as Not-Heaven! Hard to drag that cart around corners. NO INTERACTION AT ALL WITH THE BABY!
What was this guy's problem? Does he think shopping and taking care of a baby is woman's work? I assume it was his baby. Why else would he have one? Especially since it seemed to be an embarrassment to him. How can you ignore a happy little baby? At least let the baby watch your face, and be reassured that you are there. Don't let it glide along in the cart, seeing only ceiling and assorted shelves, wondering where its caretaker is!
I guess we should be glad The Dude didn't leave that baby in his truck.
6 comments:
Not to mention how easy it would be to grab the carseat and baby when he wasn't paying attention! Parenting really should come with instructions for some people. I never took my eyes off my babies when they were too young to yell for me. With that last child, though, they would have brought her back, she would have demanded it!
Kathy,
OH MY GOSH! I never thought of that! Just grab the handle, and you've got yourself a baby! If it cried as you walked out, people would just think it was a crying baby.
The Pony was a breeze, so calm and compliant. Genius, though, was one of those "Ransom of Red Chief" toddlers. He would have been perfectly happy bossing his captors around. THEY would have been falling all over themselves to bring him back.
Pulling a cart from the front is really awkward, I tried it once. Ignoring a baby is bad enough, but at least he didn't walk out of the store without it as I did once. I am ashamed, have no defence, my third child was sound asleep in her pram which I parked in a corner while I browsed magazines nearby, then walked to the counter with the chosen magazines, paid and walked out, got halfway down the block and suddenly realised I wasn't pushing the pram. Raced back and apologised to the cashier and retrieved the baby still sound asleep.
River,
OH NO! Did you ever tell her about it? That's still not as bad as the time I started driving away when young Pony had one foot on T-Hoe's running board, and the other foot on the pavement, climbing into the back seat with the door still open!
I never told anybody!!
River,
That's just as well!
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