IT'S EASY TO PARENT FROM AFAR

I understand that everyone does not want to be subjected to other people's children, especially in certain places: airplanes, fancy restaurants, serious movies . . . but why is it that some people so easily judge others by their children's behavior? Last night, while my family was eating dinner at the Whole Foods cafe, a lady kept disapprovingly turning around to look at my three-year-old who was trying to make a sound louder than the beeping microwave. Now, I know she was trying to read, and we did try to accommodate her by reasoning with the three-year-old, but I also wanted to shout, "Three-year-olds don't have volume control!" and "This is not a library!" Here's a poem on the subject, or maybe more of a rant.


Taboo

Children still have their place,
should be seen and not heard
at the store, at this function dressed
to see their father receive an award.

They are free game to the judgment
and comments of anyone, including
this teen, who decries within earshot,
"I would never bring my children here."

Go ahead, take a shot,
I’m ready with my standard:
"Why did I ever take my sister’s kids out?"
Seems to crack their expert
parenting-from-afar gaze,
drops their eyes,
but really I want to say:

May you be blessed with a brood.
May your life turn elliptically
around them.