The Menace of Convenience

I was shopping today; yes my life now consists of mommy things, shopping, writing, and my favorite-napping. Needless to say I’m in my glory…anyway, while in the checkout line I heard a baby wailing and I cringed. I have to explain myself and the cringing.

My 2nd son turned colicky at 3 weeks old and cried all the time plus he didn’t sleep straight through the night until he was almost 2. When I hear a baby cry in a store I immediately get all knotted up inside; so I try to get out of hearing distance of the sound, but if I can’t, I leave the store. Well, in this case I was already checking out and the mother of the wailer was now pushing a double stroller-double as in twins, out the door, so I relaxed and finished my task.

While I was loading my Jeep Liberty (I feel inclined to advertise I buy American), I spotted the woman with the twins and almost dropped my bags! She was at the rear of an SUV with 2 infant seats in the hatch and she was strapping those babies in those seats! I stood there, in the parking lot, with my mouth agape, not believing my eyes. How could she see them while driving? What if they choked on something? What if she got rear-ended? Then it dawned on me-if she couldn’t see them, she probably couldn’t HEAR them either. Not to mention it was a lot easier loading them in and out of the hatch than it was the back seat.

Now, I can totally relate to a whiny kid. Been there, done that, still sane-I think. However, there is no way I’d ever do anything UNSAFE for convenience. Anyone that knows me knows that my vehicle doesn’t move until all passengers are in their own seat, strapped in their own belt and no one under the age of 13 sits in the front. Rules are there for a reason and I do my best to follow them. Some family members think I’m a spaz. Well, at least I make my position known and stand by it-- no flip-flopping.

Being a safety spaz and seeing a woman strapping her babies in the hatch of an SUV made my head spin. How she secured those seats I’ve no idea; but at least her stroller was safe and sound in the back seat! I don’t know if this woman did this out of stupidity or convenience. Doesn’t matter much, those babies were NOT safe.

People have to get licenses to cut and dye hair and to drive and sell automobiles; but any moron can reproduce and raise a child. What the answer is I’m not sure. Too bad people don’t have to take a test before having children. Can you imagine how many would fail? As I’ve come to discern-convenience is more important than safety and common sense isn’t common.