I Won't Let It Ruin My Day

I had a fabulous day with the kids. Dolly and I walked the boys to school this morning. On the way home I thought it would be fun for Dolly and me to go to the school talent show – just for shits and giggles. We got home, I cleaned half the house (only had dusting and vacuuming left) and we went off to the school. The talent show was fun: children from different grades performed and, after all the performances, some of the teachers participated in some really fun games for the kids. It was a really good show. While I was there, I was speaking to the President of the PTA, who is a friend and whose son is in Dolly’s Headstart class. Dolly and the little boy are best friends, so I’m told. They’re really cute together.

Anyway, my friend asked me if we were returning for Water Day later in the afternoon. I said ‘no’ because the notice sent home said it was only for the students of the school, same as it had for years gone by. She told me that younger siblings could attend, IF mom was there with them. So, Dolly and I decided we would attend but we had to go home first and change our clothes to something that could get wet. Then we were off to CAPA – she for counseling and I for the Mindfulness class I’ve been taking. Our CAPA visit was from 11-12 and Water Day started at 12 and ran to dismissal (2:15). We got there about 12:15 and went to the little inflatable water slide my friend was running. Dolly loved it. They climbed up the middle and slid down either side into a standing pool of water. She had a blast. While she was doing that I walked around to find the boys.

There were about ten game stations that the classes rotated through after a certain amount of time had passed. Some were field stations and some were water stations but each class got to attend each station one time during the event. I found each of my boys’ classes and hung with them at a station or two, having fun and getting sprayed by the fire hoses. A fire truck was on scene to supply the water – one spray off the truck and two hoses dragged into the middle of the blacktop spraying anything and everything. They firemen were using me for target practice at one point but the kids loved it. Each kid even got the opportunity to hold the fire hose, with Mr. Fireman holding onto it also, so they were very excited about that. Everyone there was soaked and everyone had a great day.

Then it was over and we came home, changed into dry clothes, I did the dusting and vacuuming and we headed out to the supermarket to get some milk and bread and I picked them up some Kid Cuisines for dinner and a box of brownie mix so I could make a snack for later. They played outside, came in and ate, played outside some more then I called them in early because it had been a really long day and the kids were exhausted; I could tell by looking at them. I even gave them a special treat tonight – they each had three brownies (I cut them small so three would look like more). Then it was time to call Dad to say goodnight and everything was on the verge of falling apart.

Tyler got the phone first and dialed Paul’s number. They chatted for a while and Tyler handed the phone to Zach. He chatted for a minute or two and then said, “Hello? Hello? He’s gone.” The phone was dead so I assumed, as any rational person would, that they got disconnected. They called his cell phone and we all know how reliable they are. I told them to call him back so they could get ready for bed. Ty tried around six times and finally got Paul on the phone saying they got disconnected. Ty gave a few “Ohs” and “Yeas” and handed me the phone. I’d told him the first time that I wanted to talk to Paul before they hung up so I figured he was giving me the phone for that reason. I said “Hello” and he gave back a very loud “Hey.” I asked why he was yelling at me and was told, “YOU NEED TO INSTRUCT THESE GOD DAMNED KIDS THAT WHEN I SAY I HAVE TO CALL THEM BACK BECAUSE I’M AT WORK, THEY HAVE TO WAIT FOR ME TO CALL THEM!!” I began to ask what he was talking about but he interrupted with, “LISTEN TO ME!! YOU NEED TO INSTRUCT THESE GOD DAMNED KIDS THAT WHEN I SAY I HAVE TO CALL THEM BACK BECAUSE I’M AT WORK, THEY HAVE TO WAIT FOR ME TO CALL THEM!! I TOLD THEM I HAD TO CALL THEM BACK AND MY PHONE KEPT RINGING OVER AND OVER AGAIN!!” Well, I’m not listening to anyone who’s yelling at me so I raised my voice right back, “FIRST OF ALL, NEITHER OF THEM TOLD ME YOU SAID YOU HAD TO CALL THEM BACK; SECOND OF ALL, YOU WILL NOT SPEAK ABOUT YOUR CHILDREN THAT WAY.” Then I hung up the phone.

Zach, who’d been upstairs by then, came down asking if Daddy was yelling at me again; I told him ‘yes’ but not to worry about it. He called back but I didn’t answer so he left a message on the answering machine: “Nice move Beth.” What the fuck are you talking about, nimrod!? I’m not the one yelling where the kids can hear it. Stupid. I asked the kids to get ready for bed while I did the snack dishes. He called back, I answered and told him I didn’t want to speak to him after the way he’d yelled at me in front of the kids and that he’d have to call back tomorrow. He wanted to talk to the kids whom I told him he couldn’t do until he checked his attitude, and that he needed to apologize to them for yelling at me where they could hear it. Zach said, “I’ll talk to him and if he yells at me, I’ll yell back at him.” What I told Paul Zach said was, “Zach doesn’t want to talk to you because you yelled at me.” Dolly spoke to him for a minute, and then he got on the phone with Tyler where he proceeded to yell at this little boy demanding an apology for Tyler not telling me Paul said he’d call them back. Fuck that shit!! Who the fuck is he to demand an apology from an 8 year old when the child made an honest mistake; and who is he to berate the child for it? Again, FUCK THAT SHIT!!! How fucking dare you.

I sent the kids to bed, gave hugs and kisses and proceeded downstairs to call Ellen. I really wanted a cigarette badly, and almost went to a neighbor to get one, but I didn’t. Then, as I had the phone in my hand to call Ellen, Pete went walking by my door, just at the bottom of the stoop, yelling, “Fuck you!! You got a problem, FUCK YOU!!” I’ve already explained, in another post, about kids and that kind of language. My kids understand the grown-ups speak that way, and that it’s not nice, but when kids do it, my kids take liberty, as do other kids. So I walk to my screen door, open it just enough to step one foot out and look beyond the door to Pete and ask him to go home. I told him I didn’t want to hear his language and repeated that he should go home. He didn’t realize it was me speaking to him, and assumed it was a kid. As he turned to face me, the “F” was already formed on his lips. He saw me and stopped dead. I asked if he really wanted to say that to me, to which he responded, “I didn’t say it.” I told him I knew that and repeated my question, loudly. Then I repeated that he needed to go home.

Just then, my fucking nosey neighbor, the one who has no life and thinks she owns the cul-de-sac, stuck her head outside her door to see why I was yelling. I’d just closed my door and put my attention back on the phone to call Ellen when I did an about face and shouted out the door, “DOES ANYONE ELSE IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD HAVE A FUCKING PROBLEM TONIGHT??!!” That did it; within seconds, she’d gone in to get a cigarette and return to her porch to see if the police were being called, I guess; and then her neighbor, another nosey barker, came running out to find out what was happening and then a third, equally nosey bitch joined the party. Although I was on the phone with Ellen by then (better to talk to here than to run to the gas station for smokes) relaying what had happened to get me so riled, every time I mentioned the neighbors and their nosey bullshit, I made sure I was standing right at my door speaking loud enough for them to hear me. They hung out there for a while waiting for something else to happen and then they all retired to their homes when the action just stopped. There wasn’t any action anyway. The whole thing started with my ex-shithead, Paul and him yelling at Tyler and me and thinking he had the right to speak to us that way.

Ty and I discussed it and I told him he’d done nothing wrong and his dad needs to understand that. I also told him that he can speak to his dad and say anything as long as it’s respectful and polite. So he and I had a nice chat about it; Ellen and I talked about it; I’m done with it for now, now that I’ve got it down on screen. I’m not going to let it ruin the great day we had, nor am I going to spend any more time dwelling on it. I just want his arrogant bullshit to stop once and for all. Ellen and I surmised that his show of aggression was to impress whatever new squeeze he’s got now. She must have been standing there somewhere because the only time he acts that way toward me is if he has an audience. FUCK HIM AND THE HORSE HE RODE IN ON!!!

I’m tired now, though, and want to get some sleep. I’ll tell more about the nosey fucking neighbor the next time I write. She’s a piece of work and needs a lot of space just for herself.

Until next time…peace to all.