Sunday, October 23, 2005

Look Away


I don’t want to be an ogre. I really want to be one of those people that loves kids. I actually do enjoy hanging out with the children of friends and playing an occasional game of peek-a-boo on the plane with the toddler that thinks the tall guy is funny. However, I’ve started to realize that kids just don’t belong in certain places. I don’t blame the kids for being there…I blame the adults that are responsible for them. We all know that it’s not OK for your child to crawl all over me at the coffee shop as I’m reading my paper and caffinating myself after staying out late the night before and recovering from a slight hangover. I think the appropriate response is to reel in the child by his belt-loops, sit him in his chair, and tell him that it’s not nice to annoy people. Calling his name in that weak whiny voice and looking at me with that “well, what can you do?” look isn’t going to really help the situation. And don’t expect me to smile and think it’s cute. You’re an ineffective parent…that’s just sad.

From the previous paragraph, you can probably tell that I was in a pretty foul mood today, which I blame entirely on the weather. Tonight’s one of those Saturday night’s where I just feel like staying home and being what my people like to call a “home body.” This usually happens every five weeks or so, and typically follows several weeks of heavy drinking, heavy spending, and probably some sort of mischief. While I probably should spend this time reflecting on the state of my life or being productive in some way, it typically involves lots of TV and abusing the internet in some way. Why are we (or maybe it’s just me) programmed to need to leave the house on this particular night (and sometimes Thursdays) in search of booze, beat, and booty?
Nights like this used to actually be fun when Saturday Night Live was actually good and I didn’t live in a neighborhood that thrives on people being out at bars and clubs on weekend nights (Adams Morgan). Now I end up watching whatever pops on, which happens to be a Rome rerun, and chatting with others who decided to stay home on IM. Tomorrow I get to look forward to brunch, getting up early to read the paper, and light shopping. I feel my mood improving already.

1 Comments:

Blogger d-town said...

Yeah, I feel you 100% on this post. You need a license to raise a kid in this world to weed out the crappy parents.

I don't know what it is about my body, either, but if I know it's Fri/Sat nights, I have the urge to drink and/or go out. I only don't have that urge when I'm hungover and tired from the night before.

And I do still like SNL ... it's feast or famine, though: a great skit or a horrible one. Can't wait until Maya Rudolph gets back ... I miss my Donatella!

11:55 AM  

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