You too were once a baby

For this one, I am dragging out the Eva Peron-like soap box. This is my current pet peeve, but I know that parents are going to relate to this.

A friend and I were at the local botanical gardens where our kids spent the morning playing in the childrens garden; it's a fantastic place totally worth the cost of membership. As it got closer to lunchtime, we made the decision to have lunch in their cafe; like most places, they have a captive audience, so the prices are not the most economical and the quality of the food is OK. My friend has three little boys and I have my little monkeys, and we are both loaded down with diaper bags, bags of wet towels and clothes, and two double strollers! Both of us were the "wide load coming through" kind of kids & parents parade, so by the time we made it through the line and paid for our lunches, the normal dining room was full of people and there was no room available for our large party.

Our kids were hungry, and they have another dining room and the doors were open, so we went in there; we were sure that since the kids were starving and it was close to nap time, we would be in and out in a snap; nevertheless, we figured that most of the people in the main dining room were breathing sighs of relief that we had not joined them.

Here's when it started: we then had the cashier who was rude to begin with come in there and tell us in snotty tone of voice that we were not supposed to be there. Well, since the main dining room was full, the kids were starving and we were carrying trays of food, there was little else we could do other than cop a squat with our brood in the entryway. She kept coming back constantly and checking on us as if we were going to steal the chairs or let our kids finger paint on the walls. We quickly finished up and left.

Quite frankly, I am fed up with people who are amazed that you dare to venture out with -- GASP -- CHILDREN. I understand that they are not always the best behaved or the quietest, but we have a right to be out and about with our children as much as they do.