At A Loss...

Tonight at work, I was reminded that not all people are loving and kind. And you know what, I don't always like remembering that. I was assisting various customers and walking around the dining area of the restaurant when I noticed a young couple with a newborn baby. The baby girl reminded me of Eliza with her big blue eyes and tiny smirk. I smiled at the couple and the baby, missing my own little lady.

A few minutes after the couple sat down, I heard the baby begin to cry. Because she was only a couple of weeks old, the cry was pretty faint. However, my body is in full mothering mode. Every part of me knew a baby was crying and needed help. Additionally, I knew the cry: it was a hungry cry. Soon, the little wail became frantic. I tried focusing on other customers, but I could literally feel my body respond to that little baby's needs. I looked at the parents, hoping they would help their own child.

And they ate.

They didn't even glance down at their child in her baby carrier. They continued to talk with one another and eat their meal.

I took a couple of breaths and tried to calm myself. I was ANGRY. I don't usually ever feel that emotion, but I definitely felt it tonight. How could they feed themselves while neglecting a helpless baby who depends on them to fulfill their needs. I went to the back of the store and busied myself for ten minutes or so, willing the family I was so frustrated with to leave. When I came back out to the dining area, I fully expected them to be gone. Just as my luck would have it, they were still there. The tiny baby was still crying.

20 minutes. They let their daughter SCREAM for that long. It was nauseating. And I wasn't the only person who noticed. Several of my coworkers noticed the family and all of them were surprised and then shocked by the parents.

Now, this may not seem like a big deal to some of you, and perhaps, I am making a big deal of the situation. I was just so upset by the impersonality of the entire scenario. There was such an obvious disconnect. And perhaps, I was already upset from the actions of other customers. Earlier in the night, a group of grown men attempted to "steal" the seats a coworker and I had saved for a disabled girl and her father. The girl, who was in a wheelchair, sat at a table waiting for her father. I had gone out of my way to secure the ONLY wheelchair accessible table for them, only to see her looking distressed a few minutes later when two men attempted to MOVE her and take her seat. SERIOUSLY!? Again, maybe it was because my father is in a wheelchair, but you DON'T do that!

This, added to rude remarks and snide looks, made for a very unpleasant night. But in the end, it made me so much more appreciative of all my many friends who are kind and loving. I was and am thankful to know such loving people and to have a husband who is so kind. So for all of you wonderful people, keep doing what you do. Really. People DO notice.