Good Behavior Bad Behavior

Saturday afternoon I went with my mother-in-law, Geri, to see The Help.

Before the movie, Geri called my cell phone to connect with me.  Adam answered my phone because I was giving him and Mark a ride to the theater and they were going to ride their bikes to Geri's.  Geri assumed Adam was going to the movie too.  When I met up with her, she'd purchased Adam and me a ticket. (good behavior)

I explained that Adam wasn't going to the movie after all.  Geri asked the long line of people if anyone was going to see The Help.  A woman replied she was.  Geri asked if she wanted to buy the extra ticket.  The woman said she didn't have any cash.

Geri said, "Here.  Just take the ticket.  Enjoy the movie." (good behavior)

The shocked woman practically fell over with thank yous. (also good behavior)

We walked into the crowded theater.  Almost all women.  There were empty seats here and there but none together.  We asked two women with an empty seat on either side of them if the seats were taken.  They looked unpleasant (because their purses were in the seats) and grudgingly said no.  We asked them if they would mind shifting one way or the other.  One of them said, icily, "No.  We've been here for 45 minutes."  (bad behavior)

Perhaps that meant her rather ample backside was melded to the seat after that period of time and moving over one seat would be therefore, impossible.

We found two other women in a similar situation.  We asked them if the seats were taken.  They said no.  They offered to slide over so we could sit together.  (good behavior)

We watched the movie.  I loved the book.  I loved the movie.  There were some very kind and decent people in it...so generous and unselfish, they made me cry a little. (good behavior)

There were other people in the movie.  Rotten people.  They were racist and cruel and also made me cry a little. (bad behavior)

Later, when we were home, some neighbor boys descended on the house.  I was making dinner and when one of the boys burst in the door, I told him he needed to stay outside because they were all going to be playing outside.  (Sometimes a woman just needs a quiet-ish house.)

This particular boy is perhaps the most persistent and persevering person alive.  Do the Kirby vacuum people know about him?  They may want to hire him.  He rarely takes no for an answer on the occasion that Mark has to tackle the jumble that is his bedroom and can't play.  If Braeden or Emma answer the door, he insists they come and get me to validate that no, Mark can't play.  Then he'll argue with me awhile until I close the door in his face.

So when I told him he needed to stay outside to play, he said, "Mark's dad said I could come inside."  (Adam was outside putting bikes away.)

I doubted this was the case but to borrow a Finnish idiom, I say where the cupboard stands, so I was overruling Adam.

"You need to stay outside tonight," I said.

He argued a bit but finally complied.

Adam and I were eating our dinner (the older kids had eaten and we saved some for Mark...see above, sometimes a woman needs a quiet-ish house) when the little boy burst in again.  He said, "Can you tell me where your bathroom is?  I really need to go."

I said, "Then you need to go to your house, (he lives across the street) and don't come into our house without knocking."  (I know, bad behavior.)

Adam said, "That was really unkind."

I started to make excuses because of the parasitic nature of the kid but Adam reminded me I'm an adult and need to be kind.

Rats.

I apologized to the little boy. (good behavior...I know, I probably shouldn't feel compelled to mention it but I don't want to give you the idea that I'm always villainous.)

Later he came up to the window and waved goofily at me.  I waved back.  But then I told Adam, "I still don't really like that kid all that much." (bad behavior)

Adam told me that I better hope Saint Peter doesn't look exactly like that kid when I get to the Pearly Gates.

He'll say, "So you want to get in, huh?"

I may be in trouble.