So. Today, this motley crew and I ventured to the vet's office. The visit was an adventure, to say the least. The part I wish to write about is the end. The very end. Like the brief walk from the doorway to our car.
It was here that a total stranger felt the desire/urge/need to answer a question I had not asked.
To set the scene, the 8-month-old, the 3-year-old, the anxious dog, and I had been locked in a small room at the vet's office for an hour. Upon our release, we sort of exploded out of the doors. I was half-dragging, half-being dragged across the parking lot.
This must have been the point that the 'good Samaritan' woman locked her sights on me. I believe this, because she crossed several parking spaces to approach me and meet me at my car. The fact that she had observed my group for more than 3 seconds means she had time to observe AT LEAST one of the following:
1. my frazzled hair due to lack of a 4th hand with which to sweep it out of my face
2. the fact that I was pushing a stroller with a baby in it
3. my wayward 3-year-old, holding onto the stroller but still dancing between it and the flow of traffic
4. the partial amputation being performed by the dog's leash on my right hand, due to his mistaken belief that we were racing to the vehicle
5. the gash down my arm(pit), due to my dog leaping INTO my shirt out of fear while waiting for the vet
Any of these observations would have deterred an average/normal/polite stranger from approaching a stranger in a parking lot.
But not this gem. She had a message to deliver. She had a PSA that I needed to hear.
And when she reached my hobbling, racing, drooling, dancing brood...these are the words that escaped her lips:
"You know, you should really be careful on the pavement. Dogs can burn their paws this time of year."
What.
The.
Eff.
I smiled & nodded...I think I actually thanked her.
And then, once I had tossed my gang into the car and began to regain the mental capacity to consider her words, I went through several stages. Disbelief. Rage. Acceptance.
But mostly rage.
I mean, what the crap did she want me to do? Drag the baby and put the DOG in the stroller? Buy shoes for my dog?? (by the way, he would never wear shoes) Carry the dog in my 5th hand?? Those are the only options I can think of. And they're all freaking stupid.
Seriously, some people.
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