Miss Manners Never Addressed These Things

Today I want to talk about a few things that bounce around in my head occasionally. Today it's manners, and specifically, things that Miss Manners might have missed. I'm sure somewhere, someone has addressed some of these things, but maybe someone can clue me in.

Here's what got me to thinkin'... Recently I was having dinner out with my hubby, just hubby and me, and no children. It was really nice. So I went into the restroom and this woman was changing her adorable baby's diaper, which wasn't as adorable as the baby. (I think I understand why God put our bum so far from our face) The baby was a little older, like over a year or so. This diaper made my eyes water, but I do remember changing diapers so I just smiled and held my breath and went on to do my business. As I was leaving, I noticed the woman was stuffing this awful-smelling ball of nastiness into the garbage can. She didn't bag it or wrap it up at all, just stuffed the whole thing into the garbage can for anyone who came along later to gag at the smellage. Now, I remember changing a wiggly baby on those changing tables where there was no flat surface to put anything at all, and heaven knows you can't put the wipes anywhere near the flailing octopus arms of doom. But whenever I changed a smelly package like that, I at least double bagged it before I shoved it in the garbage. I'm not sure it really helped the smell, but it was my attempt at being considerate. Not everyone thinks your baby's diaper smells like manna from the Lord!

So I hid my shock and went on out to finish dinner, but the whole thing got me to thinking. Shouldn't there be some kind of etiquette rules for disposing of baby poo in the public restroom? Or maybe the restaurants should have like a "poop chute" type of bin that when you put a diaper in, it is carried immediately out of the restaurant into the dumpster outside. Sounds like a great invention, right? Someone should get on that, snap to it!

But then there's so much worse that people do with their adorable babies. For instance, during this same date (childless remember), we were seated at a long line of booths that connected to each other, and on either side of us was a couple with their adorable babies. I love babies, but we were practically having dinner with two couples on either side of us, and their babies were in the high chairs, which were actually touching our table we were so squished together. On the one side, I had to keep moving my purse because one kid was digging all in there and getting my keys out. On the other side, I had to basically paper my arm with napkins because the other kid kept smearing his breadstick on my shirt. And the oblivious couples just assumed that was how I wanted to spend my rare childless date with my hubby. They just laughed and said, oh how cute, and carried on. And who wants to be the jerk who hates babies? Not me!

Anyway, I'm coming off sounding like a baby-hater here. I do remember trying to eat out with small ones, and we still have a few littles who have a hard time behaving in public. But I don't think that at any time, I allowed my children's behavior to ruin someone else's evening out. I'd rather stay home!

Anyway, here's me blathering on about manners again... ;)