I thought about deleting my earlier post about the weirdos who live in my borough. It makes me sound like I'm paranoid, I thought.
I took Lauren to school today a little early after a stop off at the bank. Lauren was walking beside me holding my hand and Lindsay was in the snugli. A woman in her late 60s suddenly swerved her Buick and pulled over. She frantically rolled down her window.
I moved Lauren to my left side, away from the car, and held her hand tightly. My right hand grasped my cellphone in my pocket, and my body stiffened. I fully expected to hear this was some sort of a medical emergency.
"Oh my God!" she exclaimed with a huge grin. "Your daughters are absolutely gorgeous!"
"Thanks." I replied casually.
"What's your name, honey?"
"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," Lauren replied.
In the backseat of the Buick, she had a toddler carseat. I've got to assume that this woman is probably a Grandma...but maybe an Auntie. Even so, on what friggin planet do you stop your car to ask a 4-year-old what her name is? Creepy.
4 comments:
That's my girl!
False community like that makes me uncomfortable, too. It's one thing for people in your indirect circle (another mother at the school) to talk to your children but quite another for random strangers to assume they are Every Grandparent!
In the old days it was a lot safer. When you were six your were my batgirl on the baseball team. It said "heather" on your shirt. It was a different time.
I remember once a stranger trying to talk to you by name because of the shirt. You said, "better ask my daddy that..."
Karen, I have no idea why people here seem to have no boundaries. I'm tired of having to tell people not to touch my children.
Dad, it was a little more understandable that an adult might not realize then that they were behaving inappropriately. That 25 years ago people told their kids not to talk to strangers should mean it's ingrained enough in our culture that therefore, you should not try to engage children you don't know.
Post a Comment