kijip
04-14-2007, 01:29 AM
My father occasionally takes T to a church function on Friday mornings where he is in charge of cooking for a large group of homeless and elderly. My mother also works at this function. They go weekly and T comes along sometimes. All of the other volunteers love to see T and he has a blast standing on a chair and helping Grandpa cook.
There is one woman who also volunteers there who I have never liked. She also lives in my mother's apartment building. I have known her for a long time as this is the church my parents took us to for a period of time in middle and high school. She is a little aggressive with praying for people and will ask people totally inappropriate questions (like if I feel I am really listening to god's plan for me, of course god's plan for me sounds a lot like *her* plan for me :P). Ans she will spread odd rumors, like my mother is supposedly having an affair with the homeless man my mother plays cards with and lets shower at her apartment. As if it is any of her business regardless but it is also just totally false. Well, I had just sort of written her off as one of those people I will never, ever get along with and moved on.
Well today when the volunteers were praying before the lunch service started, I guess T asked my dad for his crayons or something. Now of note here is that he is not whining, fussing, running, throwing a fit etc and he took the crayons and started coloring. I guess he also was humming a little song while he colored, which my dad decided was not worth trying to stop as the prayer time is very informal and was coming to an end. The prayer is not formal, just a grace after the volunteers finish cooking and setting the tables. None of the other volunteers seemed to mind T in the least and certainly my dad was taking care to keep him as quiet as a 3 year old can possibly be. Well, after the informal prayer was over and finished, this woman leaned over my three year old son and waved her finger at him as told him that "God thought it was very bad for T to talk while people were praying" and "I have to tell you T, don't talk when grown-ups are talking and you should be praying with us and not doing fun stuff (ie coloring)". My father told her to leave T alone and mind her own business, that his behavior was his concern for the morning, not hers. She persisted and my father then told her again to leave him alone at which time she *actually shook my son's shoulder*. #$%^@&!!?? My father picked him up and left for a walk, telling her that if they wanted to lose their cook, then so be it, she was not going to reprimand his grandson. When I picked T up an hour later, he said that "X says that I am a bad boy for talking, she and God does not like me to talk but I needed some coloring stuff and grandpa gave it to me and he told X to STOP! and leave me alone because she was not being nice". Thanks a lot, woman. great stuff to have to explain to kid. I can see if he kept talking or was being very loud to approach my father about taking him out during the prayer in the future or addressing her concern with him but he was across the room from the prayer to begin with, doing exactly what he has done in the past with nary an issue and if there is a problem, talk to the caregiver in charge, do not lecture my kid and don't ever try and touch my kid, plain and simple.
Oh, this is the same woman that told me that we went to church because she prayed we would find God but that she was going to pray some more that we might find a "better" church to attend. I am *not* joking about that. She also chewed out little kids in the Sunday school class I was helping out in 10+ years ago for not coloring the pictures of Joseph in in the lines. She also made my father almost spit out his dentures with her prayer today. She prayed that God would "strike down those that don't know your ways". Forgiving and loving, much?
I could add in about 50 other "this woman is looney toons" anecdotes in here but i will just say that while I can tolerate looney, I can't abide by being mean to a child in the name of any higher power. Eck.
Sad, sad little woman.
There is one woman who also volunteers there who I have never liked. She also lives in my mother's apartment building. I have known her for a long time as this is the church my parents took us to for a period of time in middle and high school. She is a little aggressive with praying for people and will ask people totally inappropriate questions (like if I feel I am really listening to god's plan for me, of course god's plan for me sounds a lot like *her* plan for me :P). Ans she will spread odd rumors, like my mother is supposedly having an affair with the homeless man my mother plays cards with and lets shower at her apartment. As if it is any of her business regardless but it is also just totally false. Well, I had just sort of written her off as one of those people I will never, ever get along with and moved on.
Well today when the volunteers were praying before the lunch service started, I guess T asked my dad for his crayons or something. Now of note here is that he is not whining, fussing, running, throwing a fit etc and he took the crayons and started coloring. I guess he also was humming a little song while he colored, which my dad decided was not worth trying to stop as the prayer time is very informal and was coming to an end. The prayer is not formal, just a grace after the volunteers finish cooking and setting the tables. None of the other volunteers seemed to mind T in the least and certainly my dad was taking care to keep him as quiet as a 3 year old can possibly be. Well, after the informal prayer was over and finished, this woman leaned over my three year old son and waved her finger at him as told him that "God thought it was very bad for T to talk while people were praying" and "I have to tell you T, don't talk when grown-ups are talking and you should be praying with us and not doing fun stuff (ie coloring)". My father told her to leave T alone and mind her own business, that his behavior was his concern for the morning, not hers. She persisted and my father then told her again to leave him alone at which time she *actually shook my son's shoulder*. #$%^@&!!?? My father picked him up and left for a walk, telling her that if they wanted to lose their cook, then so be it, she was not going to reprimand his grandson. When I picked T up an hour later, he said that "X says that I am a bad boy for talking, she and God does not like me to talk but I needed some coloring stuff and grandpa gave it to me and he told X to STOP! and leave me alone because she was not being nice". Thanks a lot, woman. great stuff to have to explain to kid. I can see if he kept talking or was being very loud to approach my father about taking him out during the prayer in the future or addressing her concern with him but he was across the room from the prayer to begin with, doing exactly what he has done in the past with nary an issue and if there is a problem, talk to the caregiver in charge, do not lecture my kid and don't ever try and touch my kid, plain and simple.
Oh, this is the same woman that told me that we went to church because she prayed we would find God but that she was going to pray some more that we might find a "better" church to attend. I am *not* joking about that. She also chewed out little kids in the Sunday school class I was helping out in 10+ years ago for not coloring the pictures of Joseph in in the lines. She also made my father almost spit out his dentures with her prayer today. She prayed that God would "strike down those that don't know your ways". Forgiving and loving, much?
I could add in about 50 other "this woman is looney toons" anecdotes in here but i will just say that while I can tolerate looney, I can't abide by being mean to a child in the name of any higher power. Eck.
Sad, sad little woman.