Dear Irritated Customer

i read an article this morning from a lady who thinks parents should teach their kids manners. And while I wholeheartedly agree that parents should I wanted to slap the author. I wont link to her article because it was just too infuriating, oh and the language deteriorated quite a bit near the end- not uplifting or worth reading. But the gist of the story she told was that she was in a rush, late for something and decided to make a quick stop at Hobby Lobby. When she went down the aisle for the item she needed there was a mother with a two year old carefully looking at and discussing the colors of spray paint available. The child was about 2 and the author did not think the mother was being responsible by taking the child near the spray paint. In addition, the mother and child were blocking the aisle so the author could not get through and they did not move when she seemed frustrated with them. Instead they continued their conversation, with the mother remarking that the lady behind them seemed a bit huffy. The author thought the mother failed to teach her child manners and was frustrated with her behavior. 

The article ticked me off and I have to respond, here where no one will ever read it. 

Dear Huffy Customer, 

First off, let’s get a few things straight- No one ever NEEDS anything from Hobby Lobby. One of the great things about Hobby Lobby is that it does not sell one single thing that people actually need. There are no lifesaving devices, food, medicine, etc. So before you get your panties in a bunch let’s get that straight. There was an item in Hobby Lobby that you wanted, your life would have continued just fine without it, this mother and child did not prevent you from eating, breathing, or living a very full life. Second, it’s Hobby Lobby, the place is a mom and kid heaven. If you wanted a store without children choose one without an entire section decimated to kids projects and toys. Third, why is it such a crime that the mom was looking at the spray paint with her child. Just because she was looking at it doesn't mean she is going to teach him to use it to graffiti buildings or sniff it as you so eloquently put it. They may have seen the display of brightly colored bottles and she took a moment to talk about colors with her child. The kid probably had no idea they were looking at spray paint let alone know what spray paint did. Don’t judge her. Moms have to take any opportunity available to them to teach their kids. Real world settings like the Hobby Lobby paint aisle are a great time to discuss things like colors. Finally, she wasn't using poor manners or teaching her child poor manners. Your passive agressive attempts to get through the aisle were poor manners. Should she have moved, probably eventually. Could you have waiting, most definitely. Was your errand more important than their conversation- to you, but not to them, who’s to say which was more important and who should have moved. Is it worth getting upset? Not at all. Will little timmy be a demon because his mom didn't make him move for the lady in the rush? No, timmy probably didn't even notice that you were huffing and puffing in anger, he was enjoying an outing with his mom. Was this poor amnners? well that’s a matter of opinion, but I would venture so say that that you have a bit more to learn than timmy. Relax friend., accept that life with children moves slower than life without. Someday when you have your own kids with you, you will look back and be embarrassed about your behavior. Someday you will encounter a lady with a similar attitude and your response will be something like Timmy’s mom. You will encourage the child to move along, but realize that sometimes other people can wait, you will realize that sometimes your child’s experience is important and worth taking time for. Someday friend you will chill out, until then hold your horse.s. 

Sincerely 

the mom blocking the aisle.