GRITS applies to me. I am a Girl Raised In The South....GRITS.
I understand all about sweet tea, actual grits that are traditionally served with eggs or shrimp depending on the time of day, hunting licenses at Wal-Mart and most of all big trucks. I get it. I'm a local, ya'll.
But what I don't understand is where the Southern hospitality has gone. When did it become OK to use those big 'ole trucks to run down a mother and her young-ins?
Just yesterday I was out with the twins on an all-over-town shopping scavenger hunt for a hammock. I understand that the second the temperature falls to below 80 degrees every store automatically removes all of the "seasonal merchandise" from the shelves and replaces it with inflatable Santa and Grinch lawn blow -ups, but I was holding out hope that there was just 1 left in town. I was wrong, and I digress.
As I was carefully strapping my child into his car seat, I was dang near run over by one afore mentioned trucks. Allow me to paint the picture...
I am parked in a nearly vacant parking lot of a strip shopping center. I had, indeed, pulled forward in the 2 spaces to allow for easy exit. I completed my shopping, or rather, failed last attempt at the hammock, and returned to my Mom Mobile. I gingerly strapped one boy into his car seat and proceeded around to the passenger side of the car and began strapping my other son into his seat. Just at that moment, a good 'ole boy in his over sized pick up decided to pull into the parking spot just to the rear and right of me. We made eye contact. He saw me. He was even smiling!
Just then he begins to pull forward into the spot directly next to me. Had he opened his door it would have been into my rear end and I don't mean the car bumper! I am livid and incensed that a Southern gentleman felt the need to be all of 2 feet closer to the door in an empty parking lot and choose the spot next to me. I would not have been irritated in the least had I not actually been standing on the outside of my vehicle and now smashed between my car and his diesel guzzling road hog of a truck!
Who does that!? Who does not see that a mother is in the process of ensuring the safety of her toddler and jump into the space closest to her? WHO DOES THAT!? Well as fast as I could I rushed from my child's side around into the drivers seat and it took every bit of Southern grace to not teach my children words that only consist of 4 letters. Just because you have a honkin' truck doesn't give you the right to park wherever you want!
As mothers, I know this would never happen in our circles. We observe, of course, the mini van 1 space rule: 1 empty parking space between each mini van or SUV in a parking lot if at all possible. The same premise applies to seats at the movies I believe.
The moral of the story? Learn the rules of the road. Even the unwritten ones. And perhaps a remedial lesson at charm school is in order!
