My six-year-old son had baseball practice this past
Friday night. Afterwards, many of us went to a family friendly restaurant in
our town. Believe it or not, even though it was after 7pm, our eight boys were
all sitting and chatting and actually being really good. The adults and older
kids were talking-it was all going really well.
Or so we thought . . .
This older gentleman came into our walled off area
with fists clenched and red faced and started yelling at us. He said how the
children were being terrible and how we were all irresponsible parents for
allowing our children to behave so badly.
Honestly, we were all shocked. We had been
impressed with the kids. It was so late and the food was taking a long time to
get there, and they were sitting and playing. This man was not only attacking
our kid’s behavior, but our character as well.
So.
What should we have done at that point?
Should we have yelled back?
Should we have tried to ignore him, hoping he
would just vanish in midair?
Should we have complained to the manager?
Or, maybe we should have gone to his table and
start a fight, attacking his family or friend’s character and behavior.
What would you have done?
I’d like to say we spoke with the manager who
handled it quietly and tastefully and everyone shook hands, the man apologized
and we all laughed about it.
Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. There was
a little yelling back and forth, and then the manager was notified. We never
got an apology and I’m actually not sure what the man was so up in arms about.
Happily, the boys didn’t hear any of this and they continued having a great
time together.
I assume the man had a bad day or was unhappy
about something in his life. We’ve all been there; we’re upset and take it out
on the closest target, which I guess was us that night.
But it got me thinking. Life is hard. How do we
deal with these hardships without scapegoating others around us?
Well, no surprise what I usually do when I’m sad,
upset, or have a lot on my mind. I write. Writing it all out helps me deal with
it better.
Some people work out, or shop, or drink, or even
sleep.
How do you handle your stress and how would you
have handled this man’s attack?
Life can be hard sometimes. I think that in order
to get through it in the most fulfilling way, we need to grab onto the
positive, work hard to be happy and successful in whatever you do, and laugh it
out. As they say, laughter is the best medicine. Maybe we should have just told
that man a joke, for example, my favorite:
So, this guy walks into a bar . . . OUCH!
Sorry, but I do love that one. Ha ha.
Have a wonderful, laughter-filled and as
stress-free as possible day.
Be kind to each other,
Meredith
