Sign #271 that I am not meant to be a parent.

Among things that I find very annoying, one of the very most annoying things is this:

A person responsible for a child in a public place--whether it be Starbucks, a restaurant, a sidewalk, etc.--looks expectantly at me, as if I should be as delighted as she is by the child's existence. It is almost always a she, not a he, who displays this expectant and delighted look. What is the cause for this "surely you must be as impressed by this child as I am" kind of look? At that moment, the child is invariably emitting a piercing screech in an otherwise quiet restaurant, touching things he/she should not touch with his/her filthy hands, delaying a long line of coffee customers waiting to order as the "responsible" adult breathlessly awaits a 2 year old's pronouncement of what he/she wants to drink, creating a dangerous situation by wandering in front of waiters balancing heavy trays, or engaging in some other annoying and/or dangerous behavior.

When I encounter this "look" from the person responsible for the child at the very moment when the child should be least likely to evoke admiration or delight, it takes every ounce of energy and willpower I have not to say, "If I wanted to hear screeching with my breakfast/taint all the products available for purchase/delay morning coffee orderers/injure a waiter by tripping him, I would have given birth to my own child and brought him here. But I didn't."

Respectfully submitted,

Lisa The Grump.