Oh No You Didn't...

It happened today. My first experience with someone questioning my parenting choices, and the shocking but distinctly blinding rage that followed.

The apartment complex we just moved into has an annual pool party in July. We listened to the sounds of mingling neighbors and loud music all afternoon, and after O had dinner we decided to take him down, play in the pool for a little bit, and see if we could meet any new people. He loves the water (bath time is his favorite part of being alive, I think) and since he starts Water Babies class at the Y in a few weeks, I thought getting used to the big pool would be good.

We were in the shallowest part, with either Daddy or me holding him with both hands, keeping his head above water, and just wooshing around, letting him splash with his arms and kick with his feet. We would pass him back and forth, and he was giggling and excited. It was very cute, and for about ten minutes it was delightful and calm.

Enter drunk 20-something guy.

He walks over and says something to the effect of "You need to stop that. You need to stop that. Keep him out of the water, ok? Keep him out of the water." He gestures palms up in a raise-the-dead sort of way, and repeats himself. Aron started to say something like "He's ok," but I bristled. "Don't tell me what to do with my child." The guy looks plaintive for a second, and says, "Ok, I'm just asking. He's just an infant. He shouldn't be in the pool." Aron tries to tell him he likes that water and the guy says something about the pool being "scary as shit" for babies. I look at him like he's insane and say, "He's HAPPY. He's FINE." The guy gets the picture that I am not backing down, shakes his head at what terrible and stubborn parents we are, and ambles off to find another light beer and chat with a girl who has a tramp stamp tattoo under her belly button.

I was enraged at this guy. "Who the hell does he think he is?" etc, etc. Aron shrugs it off better than me, because obviously the guy is drunk as a skunk and you can't hold it against him for being worried, right?

Well I can.

I knew this would happen. I mean, it's almost happened before when people at Food Lion give me dirty looks for letting O crawl on the "filthy, dirty floor! He'll get germs!!" To which I reply, "Germs are good for him." But those people never made me mad like this did.

I remember conversations I used to have with my sisters, when I questioned some of their parenting choices about Gaelan, and disagreed with some things they chose to do. I remember feeling kind of baffled at how closed minded they were, how they weren't able to have a real conversation about the topic because they were too busy telling me I wasn't a parent, I didn't know what I was talking about, and they weren't going to defend their parenting to me. Now I know why they were like that. Now I get it.

I know there are going to be times when someone questions my choice, and they will be right. They will have a good point, or a good perspective, and their point will be a valid one. But I can't promise I will be able to hear them. I can't promise I will listen objectively and weigh the options carefully. I will probably shoot them down before they get off the ground. I will probably turn into raging defensive mom monster, like I did at the pool guy today.

It's interesting, the first twinges of that mom monster. I wonder what other things will set her off, and what it will take for her to unlatch her giant jaws and bite someone's head off in one massive chomp...