Friendly Kind Stranger-Lady

On Saturday, we made a quick trip into the city to go to Ikea to get the usual Ikea things.....napkins, curtain rods, and those cute flower lights you saw for the Little Girls room.  By the time we got done there, and made it through the self-checkout (which, I might add is a good idea for me...not so good for Art!), it was time to eat.  We treated the Girls each to a very fancy dinner out....at Ikea....hot dogs!  I think, by far, the cheapest meal you can eat out - 2 hot dogs and a drink for $2!  You can't beat that!  Oh, a quick side note here.  While we were standing in line, I asked Abby how frustrated Daddy was after going through the self checkout.  Her answer? 

"Oh, Daddy wasn't frustrated.  He was very, very, very, very, VERY frustrated!"  I laughed.  A lot!

Anyhow, we finally made it to the front of the line, and bought our dogs.  After I moved over to get the dogs, the lady behind me said this: 

Friendly Kind Stranger-Lady: "Can I ask you a question?"

Me: "Sure."

Friendly Kind Stranger-Lady: "Do you allow your children sugar?"

Me: "Yup!"

Friendly Kind Stranger-Lady: "Can I buy them this bag of (oh so yummy Daim) chocolates?"

Me: "Ummm, sure?"

Friendly Kind Stranger-Lady:  "Your girls are just beautiful...and SO well behaved...and I just think that they are amazing... (you get the idea - a bit of a gusher, but she was complimenting my Girls, so I let her go on...and on...and on!)"

Me: "Thank you so much"
Me to Girls:  "Girls, this friendly, kind lady bought you some candy.  Please come and say thank you...." (which of course they did!)

Then, Friendly Kind Stranger-Lady says to Art: "I thought that maybe your Girls weren't allowed sugar because they are so well behaved.  I just can't believe them!" (and gushing, again!)

Now, our Girls always ask for the, and I quote, "Candy for the Friendly Kind Lady".... :-)


There are a few things from this story that are interesting to me...

1. That this lady noticed my Girls, AND commented on them (again and again), AND wanted to reward them.  The bag o' chocolate was about $7...and she only bought a hot dog (for $1).  A big reward, when you look at it in those terms
2. That she thought that the only reason they were well behaved was because they didn't eat sugar.  This is not only interesting to me, but even a tad bit disturbing.  Seriously?  Is this what we've come to as a society?  That parents cannot train their children anymore, but rather, there has to be a 'special reason' that they are well behaved?!   Don't even get me started on this whole topic!

Anyhow, it was a great opportunity for us to (once again) reinforce that we need to be kind and well behaved at all times, especially in stores.  And no, they don't usually get rewarded for it, but on Saturday, they did.  So fun for everyone!