From One Mother to Another

Dear Lady,

You don't know me, and that is probably for the best.  I sometimes wait outside when I want to speak to particular parents while they are held captive by the pickup line. Yesterday,  I was standing behind you and your friend while the two of you were waiting for the elementary school to let out so that you could walk your kids home. 

Your son ran up to you. He couldn't have been more than seven, and he was adorable with his blonde hair and dimples. You ignored him and continued talking.  You didn't even say hello to your child.
You ignored him and continued talking.  The boy began to jump up and down, from foot to foot.

"Mom, I have to go to the bathroom!"  I heard him say this a little frantically.

You ignored him and continued talking.  The person you were speaking to looked at your child and then pointedly at you.  Your son then began holding himself, trying to hold back the tide.

"Mom, I have to go to the bathroom!"   Every parent should know this tone; it is the tone that communicates that waterworks of one sort or another is about to commence. 

You weren't even talking about anything important, and there was your beautiful child, having a small emergency...and you ignored him. There were a few other parents waiting for their children alongside you who could not help but bear witness; all of them were glaring at you. You kept right on talking.

Your kid was about to pee all over himself in front of his ENTIRE school and you ignored him.  All I can say is, WTF???

You probably would have yelled at him if he had had an accident, like it was his fault.

We as a society spend a lot of time on potty training our children.  It is a big deal, a big step toward independence. We take pride in our children being able to control their bladders.  We especially encourage them to let us know when they have to go so we can help them get to a bathroom in time. 
It is a BIG deal to a kid if they have an accident at school.  As in traumatizing, in some cases.  Even if nobody else notices but the teacher, a child will still beat themselves up about it. 

I understand the whole "tune your kid out" thing on occasion.  We've all been there, trying to have an adult conversation, while a little voice seems to be chanting "Ma" repeatedly all around us.  However, all mothers should be able to distinguish between an "I am doing this to get your attention" voice and a "HOLY CRAP! IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD!!!" voice of extreme duress.  I am not exaggerating when I say that every single mother within a 150-foot radius was cringing at the sound of the desperation in your child's voice.  I even thought that I saw a rosary or two; at that point, we all felt that the intervention of the Almighty was appropriate.  I too prayed that the Hand of the Lord would reach down out of the heavens and impart wisdom to you...by smacking you upside the head.  Of course, I was projecting.  I truly wanted to reach over and smack you right in the back of the head.  This had nothing to do with my migraine and everything to do with your general douchebaggery of the moment.  I don't think there is a jury on Earth that would have convicted me. 

This woman(a teacher!) just suddenly  appeared, opened the door to the office,  established eye contact with your son, and said the words the crowd wanted to hear:

"The nurse's office has a bathroom. Go."  

If you hadn't been so busy talking, you might have heard the collective sigh of relief and felt the stares.  You might have been ashamed. 

I thought that you should know all this, so that it doesn't happen again.  Please, please, PLEASE look at your child and help them by sending them in the direction of a bathroom!!!

Sincerely,
Tina

P.S  Some of the people in the crowd don't like to wait for Karma, and they may take matters into their own hands.  If you find any buckets of urine sitting near your car, that wasn't me.