Note to Self: Things I will NEVER, under any circumstances, say to a mother of toddlers

Last week when I was flying home to Idaho from California with Maggie and Maximus, I met some friendly folks waiting for our plane at the gate.  I only had about three tasks to complete simultaneously: trying to feed us dinner before we boarded the plane, pulling Max out from under the black chairs where he had crawled to do some exploring in the airport nastiness, and chasing down Maggie as she cruised down the long row of chairs to try and partake of the dinner of some elderly strangers while I was doing the search and rescue for Max. 

When I finally took a deep breath and sat back down to wash everyone's hands and distribute the dinner, I saw a friendly looking lady smiling with Maggie. It's always a relief to find kid-friendly strangers around you in a public place– so often people seem to be annoyed that I have burdened the adult world with my younglings. So I smiled at the nice woman and enjoyed a rare quiet thirty seconds while the kids' mouths were stuffed with food.

Then another man sitting two or three seats down leaned over to the woman and said, while pointing at my kids, "Those were easy days, huh?"

I looked up at him, expecting to see some sign that he was utilizing the art of sarcasm. I found no such sign. He was completely serious.

The woman replied, "Yeah, I know. I didn't think it at the time, but those were easy days." Then she looked at me and said, "Just wait until they're teenagers. It makes this stage look like a breeze."

And that, my friends, is something I will NEVER, under any circumstances– even if I someday believe it, say to a mother of toddlers. Especially one who is wrangling two of them by herself in an airport.