Library Visit Gone Wrong

Dear Perfect Library Ladies:

You know who you are. The ones that apparently have never raised children or been around any boys under the age of five prior to today. Yes, you the unhelpful ones that didn't even acknowledge me today. Thanks for making a difficult trip to the library even harder.

Source

Let me explain ....

My friend and I went to the library today with four sons (two each).  Given the colder weather, we thought a quick stop at the library and its adjacent coffee shop would be fun.  We are fortunate that our public library has an enclosed children's room on the 2nd floor where kids can attempt their library voices but do not distract other patrons if their attempts fall short ;)

I knew the visit wasn't going to go so well when my son saw his two friends enter the premises and proceeded to lean over the library's second-floor railing, yelling out their names at the top of his lungs. Needless to say we had everyone's attention and the visit had officially begun. (Note: I, of course, explained to my son about the need to talk softly and avoid running).

As usual, our boys were excited to see each other.  They quickly started playing hide-and-seek behind the book shelves and whatever other super high-energy activities they could think of. Fortunately there was only one other little girl and her dad in the room, oh and one perfect library lady. 

Again, let me stress my friend and I both spoke to our boys continuously, trying to calm them down, explaining that people were trying to read and that the librarian was going to ask us to leave if we didn't stop running. We thought we would at least get a grin from the library lady that was within ear shot, or you know the "been there, I understand" look or even for her to kindly play along saying something to the boys. Nope, nothing. Little Miss Stoic couldn't budge any expression other than b-i-t- ... oops, won't go there.

So being the responsible Moms we are, we decided to take a rain check on the library and move the play date out to the nearby park.  Down the elevator we go, to the exit desk to check out our books.  The only visible library lady (one who had already given us a snot look) sat nearby helping someone apply for a new card. Anyone close by would have known we were struggling with some rambunctious boys, but were trying to do the right thing and leave ... so throw us a bone! Nope. The library lady just sat there. Didn't call a colleague. Didn't look up. Didn't acknowledge us. Didn't check us out.  Nothing. Plllleeeeaaaasse.

Then the boys decided it would be fun to run away from the Mommies. Yeah, not so much fun.

I quickly grabbed my son (other son was luckily contained in the stroller) and patiently waited for a library lady to finally check us out. When one did arrive, again, no acknowledgement of how tough of a situation we might be in. Nose in the air, no comments or greeting to us, total snotville. More like "yes, please leave and take your wild animals with you" look.

I understand that loud, energetic kids can be annoying to others, but let me make two points:  for the majority of our visit, we were in a children-only, sealed-off room; and given the behavior of our boys, we chose to leave and remedy the situation. It's not like we were parading them around the Canadian History section or letting them run wild with no attempt to corral them into control.

Anyways, I am ranting.

How could I translate this into a resume line item? Hmmm ....  extreme patience...  diplomatic individual capable of discipline and schedule changes ... highly motivated and works well under pressure ... experience in behaviour management ....thrives in fast-paced work environment.

Any suggestions?

My resume sure is going to be packed when I update it!


LadySmith