Eh, nobody's dying.

We're closing in on the last few days here, and since the weather outside is frightful fabulous and snowy, we've been doing play dates at the bookstore. The one on Monday was so fun, the girlies decided they wanted an encore yesterday. So as soon as Strip got off the bus, she changed into her ballet clothes, I whipped her hair into a bun and we were off! The moms grabbed a cup of coffee in the cafe, then we headed back to the kids' area to play. Nugget went straight for the train table and the girls hit the books.

And it was time for me to get some sweet baby lovin! Friend Mom (FM) has an adorable baby boy who was born in October and I take every opportunity I can to get that sweet baby sugar.

I was standing up next to the trains, swaying back and forth (because you just HAVE to do that when you are holding a t-tiny baby) when an angry, older lady, came barreling past us to the computer to look up a book for a customer. I kindly stepped out of her way and continued chatting. The girls came over closer to us, and Strip knelt down to look at a book on one of the displays. Angry Lady started walking back to the customer and tripped over Strips slightly extended stabilizing leg. She caught herself, and turned to give us all the angry eye. I quickly apologized (not that it was our fault she wasn't aware there were CHILDREN in the CHILDREN'S section) and told Strip to watch her feet.

That was not enough.

Angry Lady turned to walk away, stopped and turned back to us. Glaring, she was desparatly trying to think of something to say. Unable to, her gaze shifted to the kids' sized picnic table where the girls had set up a Pinkalicious and dragon tea party with about 9 of the mini stuffed animals. BINGO!

"NO! NO! You need to clean this up! YOu can't do that! People can't even get to the table because of that mess NO NO NO!!!"

And she stormed away.

I was dumbfounded. We were the only ones in the back of the store, aside from the 86 year-old customer Angry Lady was assisting, and I'm pretty sure if she wanted to sit and read, she was going to opt for a comfy chair in the adult section over folding herself into the pint-sized picnic table. And it's not like we were leaving. We were sitting there, reading, drinking our coffee, enjoying the afternoon. Now before you start yelling, yes, I've worked in retail, and I know there is NOTHING more infuriating than setting something up only to have kids (or adults even) destroy it and leave. So, had she said, "Oh girls! Make sure you put those back, please," I would be fine, but YELL at MY baby? Oh no you didn't.

As she stormed away, I looked down to see a quivering lip. I quickly knelt down and assured Strip, "You did NOTHING wrong. That lady was not looking where she was going and tripped over YOU. And because she made a mistake, she had to find something to get mad at you about. You are NOT in trouble. That said, these are not your toys, so why don't you and buddy put all but two back."

Ooooh she rubbed me the wrong way! I looked back at FM and said, "Can you believe that woman?!"

I know. Nobody's dying.

I gave her a confused look, and she continued.

She went on to say that she thinks everyone should work in a nursing home or hospice care for a time in their life. It gives you a whole new outlook on your day. So after coming into work everyday to watch someone die and comfort grieving loved ones, retail stress just rolls off your back. 'OH! This display looks HORRIBLE!' Eh, you can fix that easily. 'These prices are WRONG!' We'll just re-do them. After watching someone struggle to take their last breath, you can pretty much deal with any bother in life.

So true.