The Respect She Deserves - Wendy Priesnitz - Challenging Assumptions Blog

Welcome to these regular musings, meanderings, wonderings and wanderings by Wendy Priesnitz.

The Respect She Deserves – December 23, 2005
Whenever I go to a store in this lead-up to Christmas, I see impatient parents and whiny kids. So it was a treat today to see a mother and daughter in a café that I frequent at the end of my regular morning walk. Mom, dressed for the office, stopped in for a quick take-out coffee on the way to dropping her toddler off at daycare. Daughter, however, wasn’t in a hurry. While her mother lined up, the little one made the rounds of the tables, carefully observing what we were eating and drinking. Then she ambled up to her mother and asked for a muffin. Mom said, “No, you have to go to school and I have to go to work.” Firmly but without whining, Daughter repeated her desire for a muffin. She was ignored. Mom, coffee in hand, was making her way out the door when Daughter climbed up onto a chair. She sat there with her hands in her lap, looked seriously at her mother and asked again for a muffin. We collectively braced for the scene that was sure to follow. However, Mom thought for a minute, looked at her watch, switched gears and smiled. She said, “So we are going to sit here and have breakfast, are we?” Pulling out her cell phone to call the office, she returned to the line-up, ordered a muffin and returned to the table where the little girl ate, smiled and chatted with her relaxed mother for five or so minutes. When Daughter was finished, she climbed down from the chair, began to put on her coat and told Mom that she was ready to go, that they’d better hurry or they’d be late. Little time was lost in Mom’s busy schedule, a young child received the respect she deserves, and everyone in the café learned a lesson. Nice way to start the day.
Posted: 2005/12/23 10:15 AM