No kids; pets OK
Before I had the G-man, I had a long list of places that children were banned from. Top of that list were restaurants. Well, I burned that bridge pretty quickly as my longing to get out of the house and have someone else cook and clean up overtook my previous annoyance at anyone under 21 dining within a three-mile radius of me.
The same goes for baseball games, the pharmacy waiting area and Nordstrom's lounge. Hey, a girl's gotta' get out sometime and the world can handle a little bit of toddler grossness, er, goodness.
But, I still have certain events and situations that require some double-checking with my internal compass on what's appropriate for his attendance.
To preface, this has nothing to do with censoring him from an experience. Honestly, with the exception of visiting a meth lab, there isn't too much I think he should be kept away or protected from seeing in life. My decisions are really about the impact his presence will have on other people.
What brings this to my mind? Why, the first item on the list - visitations and funerals. Unfortunately, we've had a few of these lately and as a result, he's had a few babysitters. Much to the dismay of people in Scott's family that have not met G-man (otherwise known as 99% of them), we didn't bring him with us because he had no business being there. How can you properly mourn someone or show respect to the family when you are loudly prying a funeral arrangement out of a freakishly strong hand? This isn't the right time to squeal with delight as he finds his nose or show a grieved widow how he can twirl until he's dizzy.
Second on the list is weddings. This is actually a split-decision. Small children should not be at the ceremony, but are fine at the reception. Why the double-standard? The ceremony is about the couple; all eyes should be on them, not on how many fingers G-man has up his nose. But at the reception, unless you are one of the newlyweds, they are kind of secondary to the food and fun. Let the kids dance, hide under the tables and above all, eat cake.
Where does this put graduations? Bring on the toddlers. No one, not even the graduates, are paying attention to this ceremony. With the exception of the 15 seconds it takes your loved one to walk across the stage, there is no reason to put all of your energy into staring at the back of their head.
I'm sure there are more situations I'll encounter as the months roll on. Sometimes he'll be part of the show and other times he'll enjoy ruling the house with lenient babysitters. And I'm sure I'll make the wrong decision a few of those times. When that happens, I can only hope the fallout doesn't become a hit on youtube.
