Lighthearted (with hindsight)
After a very stressful public embarrassment with small children yesterday, I am looking for us to share our stories of where our little darlings have really tested us in public!
We are members of the swimming pool at a local fancy spa hotel. There are lots of families that use the pool and the fancy spa bit is completely separate with separate changing rooms etc.
Yesterday I took my 4y and 1y old on my own for the first time. The swimming part went really well and I was brimming with confidence that it was ok to take them both. However the family changing room was closed and so we had to use the changing that the fancy spa people use. On the way in it was empty however on the way out, it was really full. My children at this point lost all ability to co-operate in the slightest!
Firstly my 1y old found a water bottle and tipped the whole lot over the floor, so I was madly using my towel to mop it up. At which point my 4y decided that she was a cat and couldn’t understand talking so she was walking around on all 4s in amongst the ankles of all the other people trying to get changed meowing loudly ignoring me completely (in the background my 1y old was screaming because I’d taken the water bottle). I just about
Got them both into a shower cubicle and we had a shower. Came out and 1y old starts trying to do laps of the changing room whilst 4y old is a cat again and refusing to leave shower cubicle which people are waiting for. I put 1y old under my arm and grab hands of 4y old to get her out of shower which she protests loudly too but she’s still a cat so she makes a lot of loud high pitched meowing. Then she is back to walking on all 4s around the changing room while I battle to get 1y old dressed who is very unhappy about it, keeps trying to remove her nappy. I eventually get her dressed and she sits straight in a puddle on the floor. At this point I ignore this. Then I need to retrieve 4y old from meowing and walking on all 4s in amongst the ankles of the other women. She is protesting in the high pitched meow again and then occasionally shouting that I am hurting her and flailing her arms around nearly hitting anyone around her. The whole time I am obviously profusely apologising to everyone, most of whom are giving me very sympathetic looks. Eventually (this took a long time) I get 4y old dressed and myself (I had been doing all of the above with my swimming costume still on and my hair dripping). I bundled them out and into the car whilst 4y old is asking for an ice cream on the way home (I’m sure you can guess what my response to that was). I cried all the way home but now I can see the funny side!
(please no judgement or advice on what i should have done differently, just share your stories please!)