Today we ran to Walmart to get the usual: diapers, formula, milk, eggs, etc. As we were waiting in the forever long line to check out, a man and his son walked up behind us. The man was tall (probably 6' 4'') and a little intimidating looking. He wore black jeans and a dark shirt. I smiled at him politely, noticed he has what looked like a horse shoe shaped bar nose ring protruding from the middle of his nose and I turned to check on the kids. (This is hardly uncommon around here, so I thought nothing of it.)
Ellie stood beside me, her head tipped all the way back, just gawking at this man's face. Trying to prevent the inevitable, I took her hand and turned her away about to ask her about something-anything, just to distract her. And then she said it. "That man has an earring in...." and I covered her mouth as quickly as I could and whispered "Shhhh, be polite, honey" as discretely as I could. To no avail, I'm sure.
Was this the end of our most embarrassing trip to the store EVER? NO. Not even two minutes later (it was FINALLY our turn to check out and Dave was distracted with the cashier) and a lady walks by, between the checkout stands, headed to the front of the store. I can see Ellie's head and eyes tracking her as she goes by.
Once again I went to distract her with something else, when suddenly she looks up at me and said, "That lady has a big bottom." Stunned she would say that, completely embarrassed and horrified that the lady heard her I glanced her way. Thankfully she had NOT heard, or if she had she gave no sign. I knelt down next to Ellie and whispered, "Ellie, honey, it's not polite to say things like that."
I was so shocked and embarrassed that I was otherwise speechless. What do you say to a 3 year old???? Ellie is proving to me a much more obervant child than Andrew ever was. Clearly an FHE lesson on manners and how some comments are hurtful is more than necessary.
Wow! What a day.
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3 comments:
Well, as far as the guy goes I'd let her look and make her comment. All you have to do is turn and look at him, turn back to her and say something like: "Yes, he does have an earring" or something to that effect. I feel that if people pierce or tattoo themselves then they certainly expect people to notice it. It's when they start to comment on how bad they are for doing it or how stupid it looks that it starts to get embarrassing! :) It's the same way with disabilities. If someone is in a wheelchair or has no leg, etc. it's best to let children observe it and teach them positively and even let the person with the disability (or the nose decoration!) tell them about it.
Now the big bottom thing...well, yeah, that's embarrassing. That's the FHE lesson on how some comments might hurt people's feelings... Good luck with that one! You're doing a good job Melissa!
he he! What a busy day you had! :) I love how observant Ellie is, I think it's precious! I know it's embarrassing, but look at it like this: someday she will be an adult and she won't say these funny things anymore (or if she does, I suppose it won't be cute anymore! :)). You'll have fun stories to tell her about how precocious she was! :) I love her!
Ha! Ha! That's funny! You know, I think it's a girl thing, because Amelia will comment on guys with long hair, or girls showing their bellys. I just think boys don't care!
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