I must seem pretty approachable. After all I've been sniffed at Walmart by Weird Guy. It's true I'm completely comfortable striking up a conversation with a perfect stranger for the 3 minutes we have to wait in line together. Exchange some pleasantries and pass the time. But please, complete strangers, take note. I'm no shrinking violet Pollyanna either. Don't get all up in my business uninvited unless you want to feel the sting of being thrown out of the party.
Take the random science teacher who felt it was her rightful duty to let me know that the kind of notebook (a tidy little 5 subject Mead spiral, black cover) I was buying, was the wrong one. Yes, she leaned right in to where I was standing with my kid, and said authoritatively..."You know teachers hate those. The kids have to rip out the paper and it's all messy and doesn't stack up. The 3 ring binders are much much better." She looked at me expectantly. As though I was going to thank her for generous pearls of wisdom, return the Mead to the shelf, and grab one of the 3 ringers she was gesturing at.
I'm pretty sure it was her snotty attitude, that caught the attention of my Mean Girl.
I looked at her with a level gaze and resisted saying what first came to mind, after all I was still standing next to my kid, tossed my hair and said..."Well, the kids like these so I get 'em what they want and I figure the teachers just have to deal."
Her expression was a little shocked, but not shocked enough to shut the heck up yet. She said, "Well, I MAKE my students get those nice 3 ring binders." I looked at her, trying to decide whether she was the most ridiculous person I'd met so far in my 44 years, and pulled out my favorite Mean Girl face. We all have one. Earned them in high school. Finally as it seemed to dawn on her that maybe I could care less what she thought, she quickly and quietly added., "at least...for my biology class I do."
Snorting, I gave her that dismissive I'm sure you do and I still don't care nod and turned back to my kid.
Ah, so that was her little fifedom. Her biology classroom. The place where she felt important and probably took it out on her students. But there, in the school supply aisle of Target we were back in the halls of high school and she was just an irritating, ruddy faced, overweight, dateless, bad-clothes wearing, busybody, who turned out to be a dorky science major but wasn't smart enough to get the grades for a good career in the actual science industry and ended up teaching high school biology out here in the middle of the sticks. I know that's Not Nice. Not one word of it. Total Mean Girl. I know. But really I hadn't asked her opinion. And maybe if she had offered up her opinion nicely...nope, even then she would've bugged me. But I might not have gone all dismissive Mean Girl on her.
My general theory about people who are bugging me in any way shape or form is this...I'm not a throw the first punch type of girl. I show up expecting to get along with everybody. But neither am I one to take much crap. So if you push me, I'll push back much, MUCH, harder so you'll go away. It's that lazy flaw of mine. I don't want to waste my time messing with you more than once. There are lots of great, fun, awesome, lovely people for me to spend time and energy on.
So strangers, sit up straight and pay attention here: Your mother was right. If you don't have something nice to say, it's better not to say anything at all. And we'll get along just fine.
We might even exchange pleasantries in line.
xoxo
~S
P.S. I happen to know and love a few people with science degrees and a larger than average number of my friends and family are educators. I'm not grinding on those two professions...just this woman who really irritated me earlier today.
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