Bye-Bye Walmart

Ok, so those of you who know me, know that I am pretty strict with my kids. Not in a mean way, but there are rules, and we follow them. PERIOD.

When mom or dad says no, they mean no. You say Yes Ma'am and No Ma'am, Yes Sir and No Sir when you are addressing an adult. You say please, thank you and excuse me. You know, common courtesy and all the basic stuff that seems to have skipped a generation.

Byron has been increasingly difficult to deal with on an everyday basis, not listening, ignoring everybody. You have to make sure he is looking in your eyes and then have him repeat everything back to you to make sure he even heard you. This breaks my heart because I feel like I am always yelling at this child, and I know I look like a total bitch when we are out.

So we go into Walmart this morning to buy our copy of Tangled. We have been waiting with baited breath for this movie to come out, and were so excited that today was finally here!

Of course the problems started in the parking lot. He wouldn't hold my hand. NO WAY. He had to hold Edith's hand. In theory, this is fine. But he is then 1 child removed from my arms length, and pulling at Edith's arm so he is lunging into the driving area of the parking lot. When we got up to the store, I grabbed his hand and gave him no choice, which sent him into a tailspin, screaming and fake crying all the way back to electronics to get the movie.

Now I don't particularly care if the kids have a tantrum in the store. It doesn't faze me a bit. So what. They scream, they cry, whatever. I tell him aisle 3 didn't hear him, or he's doing it wrong. Let the other parents stare at me. I think Edith had 1 tantrum in a store. That was enough. The funny thing is that Byron doesn't have a tantrum because he can't have something. That has never been an issue. But he is in this fake crying and whining phase that we can't seem to shake him out of. So he's having this screaming and crying tantrum for no reason but that I won't let him hold sisters hand. Oh well.

We get to the register, check out when he says, "I have to go pee." "Wait until we get home." "I can't. There's water coming out!" So to the bathroom we go. He pees all of two drops. (This is another new thing. He has to pee EVERY PLACE we go.) Get him to the sink, and there is no soap. Then this employee Crystal comes out of her stall and as I am telling him that his hands are fine being rinsed (since he didn't actually even go pee), she steps in and tells him to come use her soap dispenser, squirts soap all over me, and then tells me that I need to be more patient with my children. Then I get to hear how she has two boys, and they are rambunctious, and I don't need to treat him like I am, and I don't need to push him, etc... after I asked her who the hell she was to tell me how to raise my kids, I went to the service desk and told them that they have an employee who feels free to tell parents how to discipline their children.

I have lived here now for almost 11 years. I have been shopping at this Walmart all this time. I am in this store AT LEAST once a week, and usually spend about $80 - $100 with each visit. I have seen parents leave their newborn infants unattended. I have seen children (and teens) running wild in the store like it is a playground. I have seen parents who OBVIOUSLY don't care about themselves, let alone what their offspring is doing. I have seen kids open up product, eat their fill and then leave the scraps on the floor, and the accompanying parent turn a blind eye. I have seen store employees who would rather file their nails than say hello to you. And yet, when I am stern with my very difficult child, (mind you, I said stern. Not screaming, not hitting), I get yelled at by a woman who has NO IDEA what is going on in our lives or family.

This is not the first time we have had a run in with an employee at this store. Several months ago, there were two female employees calling eachother slut, and other degrading things. And they were in the toy department yelling them to eachother. Can you all see the look on my face when my daughter wanted to know what a slut was? Today was my final straw.

The saddest thing of all about this, is that I was right. No matter what I do with my kids, good or bad, I look like a bitch in public, and that's how my kids see me too.