Nothing is more humbling than...

taking two little boys to the library! It never fails. I can remember to call two weeks in advance to sign up for the music class. I can pack up books and lay out clothes the night before so we are on time. I can even flat iron my hair right before we leave. However, somewhere along the way I lose all control and chaos ensues. I should stop typing right here and celebrate the good things. The boys did well in the class and followed along better than they ever have. Drew only gets to come as a sibling since he is not quite two (this means he does not get his own name tag with a dalmatian on it- very sad) and so it IS a big deal that he sat still and attempted to sing the songs. David listened and did really well. BUT- I just can't help but comparing and seeing other people and their kids. There is always this one mom and daughter that sit off to the far end of the room. They are a pair that I just can't identify with- you know the type. The daughter is always in a frilly dress and stays right by her mom's side the whole time. And the prim, blond mother always seems to be looking at my boys with disdain. Then the little girl will look at Drew and point and whisper something. She probably whispers something innocuous, however, in my head, their conversation always goes something like this, "Mommy, I don't like yucky boys. " In turn the mom replies something along the lines of, "I know Princess, me neither, that's why Daddy sleeps in the guest room."
Anyway, we didn't get any evil looks from the Prissy Pair despite the fact that Drew and David were still hopping like frogs well past the frog song. The worst part always happens when we are out around the check out area. Herding squirrels would be easier than getting Drew and David to stand still and quietly in the same place. They both darted towards the doors and were trying to race to push the handicapped button and one of the sour-puss middle-aged librarians said, "Well go catch them you can get the rest of the books in a minute." It made me feel so dumb and I didn't have time to explain that 1) I knew I could grab the books and outrun them 2) they wouldn't go past the doors and at least they were further away from the quieter parts of the library. I just felt like such an inept goon. As I type this I know I shouldn't care so much what strangers think. And outings anywhere will just keep getting easier. But... it's just a bad feeling when I try so hard to then feel like we are one huge, noisy, misbehaving spectacle. I guess at the end of the day we learned some new songs, we have lots of books to read for the next two weeks, and the metropolitan library system will get a rest from us for a little while.