Taking it in

Tonight, I was casually complaining yet again about the annoying tendency for people not only to be curious about all my children when we go out in public but the frequency of strangers to just ogle us without any idea how rude they're being. It's one thing for someone to look at us as we walk past them but it's an entirely different thing for them to stop mid-step, drop their jaw and stare at us in disbelief as we walk by. It's worse when there is a group of people since they feel even less inhibited and may discuss my family and my situation loudly as if we're not even present or capable of hearing them. Of course, there are also many people who will want to talk with me about my boys which I will do to an extent but like Willie Nelson singing, "Momma, don't let your babies be cowboys" for the 1 millionth time, I'm not very enthusiastic about responding to the same comments and questions posed to me every time I walk out the door with them. Having heard me complain about this before, my husband makes the joke that maybe they just think I'm hot. Quite amusing.



The funniest thing about his comment though is that it made me aware of something I had not considered before: my ridiculous tendency at times to get an unusual amount of attention, even when I'm really just trying to get through my days. When I was younger, I was sort of cute - cute in the all-American girl kind of way. To be honest, being blond, blue-eyed and skinny is rather boring. I couldn't take credit for how I looked. I was just how I was. Of course, I'd be lying if I said that it didn't come in handy when their was a hot guy I liked but there were plenty of times that I would have prefered to blend in with everyone else.



Again, I was no real beauty. Unintentionally, my trusting nature, naivety and youth invited all the predators to swarm me since I appeared to be easy prey. Good thing I wasn't but there were many instances where I found myself at risk. From strange men trying to get me to get in their pick ups to go to who knows where to being asked to have my photo taken with a large number of Japanese men in a tourest group who took a fancy to me, I have had some strange moments. I can't imagine what a woman with real beauty must go through if I experienced such things. The good thing is I survived all of that and I now am a grown woman who no longer draws the attention of horny, older men - either that or they can tell that I'd grind their balls into a powder if they got near me.



Since it has been such a long while since I turned heads like the days of my youth, I find it odd to yet again be in the spot light so to speak and I find it rather aggravating. I know that people mean well most of the time - I really do - but it gets old. As moms can attest, there are times when you're with your children and you're just not having a good day. All you want to do is to get from point A to point B without your kids misbehaving. When I'm having moments like that with any of my children, the last thing I want to be conscious of is some mouth-gaping goof gawking at me and my children. As I was getting a little beyond frustrated with one of my children today, some loud lady yelled, "Triplets?" to me and, unfortunately, my cursory response was anything but pleasant. I hoped that she didn't pick up on my anger but, then again, she wasn't considering me when she blabbed.



Despite my husband's amusing comments that people are looking at me because they think I'm hot, I laugh at how my life has changed in regard to how I get attention these days. At least I know how to handle it somewhat and I appreciate the fact that the people who gawk nowadays are doing it for much more benign reasons. I'll try to be more understanding to those who are polite enough to not do a 360 when we pass by but I can't say that I'll always have a kind word when one baby is screaming, another needs his diaper changed and the third is pulling my shirt up to expose my stretch marks to the world and some kind-hearted person is amazed by the fact that I have 3 children - the three children that I spend every waking moment with and who are not the least bit new to me. Yes, they are darling. They really are now get out of my way. Thanks. :-)