Anytime I go some place like this for the first time, I picture it in my mind the way I would put it together. The problem with this is that I am very often let down by the way it's actually done.
This was true of the Day with Thomas. I had imagined a day in Sodor with Thomas things. In reality it was a couple of inflatable bouncy cages, for kids only. A couple of plastic Little Tyke play sets. The food court was a taco stand and a hot dog and burger stand. All of the souvenir things were for kids only. A couple of tables with Thomas toys that were broken, needed batteries and scattered all over the bloody place. And it was all in the middle of a dirt parking lot.
I realize that Thomas is for kids, but I was not the only adult upset that not one of the Thomas shirts was larger than a kids size 7.
3 out of every 4 bodies attending was an adult. I was a little let down. I had been looking forward to a Day with Thomas tee shirt for myself. I think they missed the merchandising boat with this. At least Mr. Man got one.
The worst part was the other parents. I don't claim to be the best parent on earth, but I could have written a book on how not to parent from this group. I could not believe how many of them paid little to no attention to their kids, who were running amok.
While we were at the play table one woman took a toy away from Mr. Man to give to her kid because she thought I wasn't watching. Twice. Mr. Man was playing nicely and she walked past and just took it. There were toys every where, but her kid wanted the one Mr. Man had so she just took it. No "Pardon me" or "Thank you" or "Can we trade". Then when I called her on it she got ugly with me. All I can say is that she was lucky Mr. Man was there. I try to set an example for him by my behavior. I try not to be a "Do as I say not as I do" type parent. I want him to learn from how I do.
I so wanted to kick that womans ass. That however would not have taught Mr. Man anything and it would have gotten me in trouble. I took his hand and told him, loud enough for the woman to hear, "let's move to another table where we can play nice." She just glared at me. Bitch!
The best part was seeing how happy Mr. Man was with all of it. He didn't care how it was set up. He gave Topham Hatt a big hug and thanked him for bringing Thomas to see us. He thanked Thomas for giving us a ride. On the train he sang and cheered and looked out the window and waved to everyone and everything.
That is what made it great. That is why I would do it again, no matter what I thought about it.
4 comments:
that does make it worth it though that lady? what kind of kid is she raising! aack!
Gah! She took his toy?!?!?! That's deplorable! You showed remarkable restraint -- I'd have had to say something because I have red hair, which means not nearly as much self restraint as you. ;) Glad Mr. Man enjoyed the outing! Littlest Eclectic has begun to lose his interest a bit, but Thomas has always been a favorite.
sigh. Kids are so great at suspending belief. In fact, they don't even have to work at it; they just DO it. We really lost a lot, growing up.
The funniest thing I read in this post, MW, was when you said you wanted to kick that woman's ass. How un PC of you. ha!
Siz,
I'm sure that kid will spend his 21st B-Day in jail.
Eclectic,
I'm still upset about her. I used to lay into people like that but I found it gets me no where and they don't learn either way.
Kelly,
It may have been un-PC of me but if you had seen this woman, I may not have been able to take her.
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