No Children

Today has been... weird. I woke up and got ready for our playgroup at church, only to call my friend who is the coordinator to find out that it was cancelled. So I decided to go to an estate sale instead.

Backtrack to last night... we had another family over for dinner, and we were just cleaning up when I got a phone call that my friend Tom was outside our house. He wanted to make sure we were up before he knocked. Tom has a talent for showing up unannounced, but we love him so we always let him in. He crashed here last night. He's in town for his girlfriend's birthday, so we get to see her tonight, too, even just for a little bit.

So Tom's at my house and I take the kids to the estate sale. I unload the kids, think to myself that it's a cute house, and wonder about the guitar I saw advertised in the estate sale's flier. Since the entire block is full of cars, I'm hoping that being there only an hour after it opens means that I got there in time enough to grab it before someone else did.

I walk the block to the entrance and see several items I might be interested in. I'm counting my money in my head, seeing how much I can spend, since I already see several items I'm interested in. Then, a big glaring neon green sign on the front door.

NO Children/NO Ninas

I stop in my tracks, so much that my daughter runs into my legs. They can't be serious. What kind of people are they???

Instantly two scenarios come to mind:
1. They think all kids are noisy, unruly brats that break everything they touch, wreak havoc and cause trouble for no reason. They think I'm going to wait until they are tired and cranky and then bring them to their estate sale to break things and annoy their other customers. These are usually people that didn't have kids, and for good reason.
2. They honestly think something bad about ME, the mom of the rejected chidren. I'm going to refuse to take responsibility for my kids, I'm going to let them jump on the furniture. I'm going to come in, let them rearrange their preorganized affair and then leave without buying anything.

Both scenarios are obviously insulting. Still, I wanted that guitar. So I tried to stop a lady that was obviously working the estate sale. I stayed outside so that I could be respectful of their wishes. I called to her three times, and she completely ignored me. So I decided they didn't need my money.

I felt horribly for my kids. They're good kids. I actually took them at a time when they weren't hungry or tired or needing attention. They were looking forward to it. My four-year-old daughter kept asking me why we couldn't go in. I didn't know what to tell her.

On the way home I was struck by how much construction was taking place near my house. New roads, new buildings, everything is under construction. And I had a happy thought: property value increase. Yay.

I consoled myself and my daughter (baby boy was taking a nap) with some baby carrots and hummus dip and a huge glass of water. It was exactly what I was craving. Yum!

Note to self: When did I become such a health freak?????