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January 22, 2010

Awkward Moment: Mall Edition!

Setting the scene, before I give you the awkward moment.  Trust me, it's worth reading to the bottom, only if you can point and laugh at my humiliation.

On Monday we had a holiday off - which will only happen a few more times during the school year.  On Sunday we mentioned during Sunday School that we were looking for something to do, and ended up making plans with friends to hang out with the kids at Columbia Mall.  That place is a favorite of ours, mostly because they have a great play area and a cheap Carousel/Merry-Go-Round!  Recently they have added both Five Guys and Chipotle to their food court, so I could basically live there for a month and be happy.

It amazes me how little time we spend with the dozens of other parents of young children that we know.  Our best friends live a half hour away and their boys are practically brothers for Abby, but we are lucky to see them twice in a month.  Our trip to the mall was the first trip with that family in over a year.  I need to fix this.  (And I apologize for the unannounced aside.)

So, we got there a little early, and they got there a little late - no biggie.  That's the exact reason that we planned to meet AT the playground!  Abby didn't know they were late, and we were having fun and didn't really notice until they arrived and said "sorry" for the lateness...  oops!  We should really wear watches.

After playing in the playground, we made the journey past the pet store over to the Carousel.  Abby could hear it about halfway down the hall and got giddy - but then, she announced "we are at the mall to ride the horses" before we got to the parking lot...

We went to the food court and ended up with food from three different places - and it would have been four if the lines were shorter.  Abby was getting a bit restless when the little guy with us had to use the potty.  She was up and walking, then she was laying down on the bench.  We were talking with our friend about potty-training strategies - and started with the one that works for a lot of folks - just going straight to big girl pants.

**Here is the Awkwardness**
Me: Hey Abby, do you like to wear big girl pants?
Abby: giggle, giggle
Me: Abby, April wants to know if you like to wear big girl pants
Me, noticing a mother at the table that is practically touching ours: Oh, I'm sorry.  I'm sure this is not the conversation you want to hear at lunch.
Other Table Mom: No, my daughters name is Abby. (points at daughter, sitting beside my Abby.)
Me:
Me: (in my head: CRAP. CRAP!)
Me: Well, that was completely inappropriate of me then.

Then I turned bright red, and shut my mouth in an effort not to insinuate to another five year old girl in the mall that I had interest in her underpants.

7 comments:

  1. HAHAHA! Oh Rob! Too funny!!

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  2. HA! Oh, this was just the giggle I needed this morning. I have to admit... I've done something that would only be worse if I were a guy. In the enthusiastic "let's get her excited about the big girl pants!" stage, I was saying, "YAY for big girl pants! You're so big! Isn't it nice to be wearing big girl pants?" and then turned to an older girl I barely knew and said, "I BET YOU LIKE BIG GIRL PANTS!" She was likek, "um, yeah?"

    Oy.

    But GO ABBY! (For the record... big girl pants are much better than diapers. Tell her I said so ;)

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  3. That's hilarious! But, the awkward moments don't stop when the big girl pants go on, in fact they get much worse. For example, Hannah said to me, at church, in a loud voice, "MOM! I have to go poop and you need to come with me to wipe my bottom so I don't get poop everywhere!"

    Umm, yeah.

    My husband met two guy-friends at the mall on Monday where they played with their combined six kids and no moms. What a crazy day to be at the mall!

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  4. COL!

    (That was a chuckle out loud.)

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  5. One of my best friends lives maybe 30 minutes from us and his son is three months younger than mine, but we rarely get together anymore. It's kind of sad, but their little guy is their second and his wife has a lot of family in the area. It is tough to fit in their schedule.

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  6. There's always that fine line that has to be walked. Which is why it is always wise to bring your wife along, to be your "dad credentials", so there are no misunderstandings that end with a night in jail.

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  7. You should have named her Shasta or Ziola, then you'd never have that problem. :P

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