Hi group.
I had my first, “I’m about to kill this mother *** for even speaking to me about my child”, moment today.
We had just finished touring a day care (hard pass).
Went out for dinner at a local sports bar. Because it’s loud and the boy being over tired and 17mos old was going to be a wild card behavior wise.
So we sit down. He’s being loud but easily distracted and amused. So he’s laughing and screeching it up. Then he’s just screeching for a good minute non stop and I hear a woman’s voice, “You can’t be serious”.
I look over at my wife and she is giving someone the dagger eyes behind me. I say to her was that directed at us? She just nods and doesn’t even break her stare. I’m like Oook.
So we continue on waiting for food and making the little guy laugh and screech and the guy in the booth behind us, turns and says to me “Really, dude?” I turn and say “Excuse Me?” “Your kid, he’s loud and screaming you want the do something about it? I have raised 2-3 year olds I..” I cut him just staring him right in the eyes, “First of all he is 1”. He says “Look man I’m just saying I’d take him outside and teach him a lesson”.
I kid you not, he didn’t even finish the word lesson and I was must have been on some sort of protective auto pilot because “I’m about to take you outside and teach you lesson” came out of my mouth before I could think. He leaned back and said “you don’t need to threaten me” I’m just staring at him smiling with a slight shake of rage and reply “You didn’t need to say anything to me about my child” He looks at me and says “Good Night dude, We’re done” I day “Yeah I hope we are” and he turns around.
So now my kid is all *** disturbed and I can hear this guy blowing off steam to his wife. He is sitting directly behind me in a booth.
So I get up because I know if I take my kid out of the high chair and give him to his mom; he’ll calm down and chill out. I can hear his wife giving the play by play of what I’m doing. I just turn and say to her “yep that’s what I am doing”. She has this “What?” look on her face, trying to play dumb not realizing I heard their entire conversation for the last couple of minutes.
Which was my not so subtle yet passive way of hinting “maybe you should shut the *** up”
So her husband try’s to engage me in conversation about how he just wants a quiet meal he’s had a long week and how my kid is ruining his relaxation for him.
At this point I have to restrain every fiber in my body from just grabbing this schmuck and breaking every bone in his body.
“Really, this is a loud sports bar on a Friday night and you’re expecting a quiet dinner?”
“Look man I’m 55 I’ve raised 6 kids you can’t let the kid control you...”
My server comes over and asks is everything is alright I’m just like “can I have my bill, box up our food make it to go because I’m about to spend a night in jail if I stay here any longer”.
So I turn around and wait and just stare at the back of this *** head. His wife is looking me up and down and says to him “he’s really big maybe you should apologize” he’s like “no he threatened me” She tells him “No I mean like he is really big like you should just apologize big”.
So my food gets delivered I pay the tab and then my wife walks over to their table and calls him an *** and his wife begins to yell at my wife to defend him and I’m just looking at her and shake my head expressing “don’t even” and then she just got quiet mid sentence.
Then we left.
I don’t understand why I was just ready to break civility as soon as this dude started laying in about my kid.
I don’t know where the *** people find engaging people with a kid in a restaurant if they’re being disturbed, is normal. (Cincinnati apparently, I overheard them talking to the server). Where I am from if you’re bothered by a child in that type of venue you ask to be moved or just pay your bill and shoot a side eye at the people as you bounce.