Wanna hear something that does not so much make my day

I mean, unless I want my day to be full of reminders about how we seem to be sinking as a people.

The other day I walk out from the staff workroom after storytime to head back and take my seat at the Information Desk. As I approach I realize that there is a toddler at the desk tugging at and playing with the book scanner next to my computer, which is a $400 piece of equipment. I rush over and am like, "Heeeeeeey little guy, let's find your mom." Because this did happen at my old place. Moms would take their eyes off the kid for approximately .0043 seconds and the next thing you know the kid is in my vacant chair, scanning books and blogging and answering reference questions. Then mom rushes over to fetch said child and we share a chuckle about how darn speedy these tykes are.

This time, when I looked around for mom, I saw her standing there there next to my desk, holding an infant. In response to The Eyebrow she looked at her son and started saying words like, "Okay, now, you can't be back there. . . . . I need you to come out from there . . . . Sweetheart, I need you to come with mommy." All while not making a move towards him.

Which, yeah. We don't play that.

So even though I try to be careful about the whole "touching other people's kids" thing I leaned down, grabbed him nicely under the armpits, hauled him up and dropped him next to her, and then turned my back on the both of them to keep from giving the lady more Eyebrow.

I mean really. Is it easier to just grab your kid or to pay for broken electronics? Was she afraid that she was going to damage his self-esteem or somehow shame him socially if she simply took him by the hand and led him away? I have no idea. My only guess is that she was somehow strung out on allergy medication and was therefore in some sort of fog state.

Posted in: library gossip,on my crap list,things that make me stare in disbelief