First of all, we had a short but pretty intense storm here in Tuscaloosa. My boss left campus to go to a meeting yesterday afternoon and called us to let us know the weather may "get crazy". If you know me, you know I don't do storms. I have hyperventilated a time or two. Also, I feel like I will get killed every time there is a thunderstorm, and I only feel safe underground. My co-workers got a little taste of my mania as I watched outside as tree limbs fell to the ground and saw my life flash before my eyes. I am a little dramatic sometimes.
So eventually the storm passed, and we all lived. I got home to take the puppies outside, and found stray shingles in the backyard and a fallen tree. Scary!
The best/worst/craziest part of the day, however, happened when we went to the bowling alley. Justin decided he wanted to go bowling, so we met up with some friends at Bama Lanes. I hate bowling. In my hometown, our bowling alley stinks to the high heavens because people have been allowed to smoke inside for years. That experience along with weird-looking shoes that other people have worn makes bowling not so fun for me. But I wanted to be a good fiance and do something Justin wanted to do, so I went. Yeah, I'm awesome.
So we get to the bowling alley and start filling up the "bowling ball holder" (I don't know if there is an actual name for it) with bowling balls and enter our names. We are about to start bowling when a middle-aged woman and her six- or seven-year-old son come up to the lane beside us. She yelled something to the effect of "We paid for this lane!" in our general direction, but I didn't think much of it, because I thought maybe she knew the people bowling on the other side of us and was making a joke? I don't know. You know how two groups share a "bowling ball holder" thingy because the two lanes are beside each other? I think she thought that whole space was hers. Maybe she's never been bowling before? I can question this all day, but I will not get any answers.
**Also, it is important to note that this lady was screaming curse words at her child. That really hurt my heart. And the little boy was trying to pick up a size ten bowling ball, which was obviously too large for him, so I offered him my size six ball so he could hold it. Just keep this in mind.**
Anyway our friends come meet us and we all start bowling. The little boy's dad also comes in to the bowling alley and tries to teach the boy how to bowl while Mom sits on her tail end and drops the occasional f-bomb. I'm on about my third frame and walk up to get my ball from the "bowling ball holder" shoot deal. I pick up my ball (which is now a size ten that I can barely hold because I gave my regular ball to the little boy) from the shoot, and the woman looks me in the eye and says,"Put that ball down. That's not your ball". I stood there like an idiot, because I thought she was joking. By this time, I should have known this woman was nuts and that she wouldn't just joke with me, but I'm an optimist. So then she literally starts screaming at me, "Put it down! Put it down! Put it down!" over and over. I have no clue what to do. And I still just stood there, because I couldn't comprehend how someone could act like that. This sums up the look on my face. I call it "The Brittany".
So I am looking like a deer in headlights, and Justin comes over to see why she is yelling. By this time, she is full-out screaming and the ENTIRE bowling alley is looking at me. I had a ton of things to say to this lady, but what do I do? I cry. I squalled and tried to say something to the effect of "I gave your kid his ball!" and "It's just a bowling ball!!" and "Does this matter at all?!". Finally, management comes over, the cops are called, and someone gets arrested. True story.
I laid in bed last night and thought of how stupid I felt, standing there like some hurt child and crying at this woman who was probably insane or on drugs or both. I felt so ashamed that I cried and couldn't form an intelligible sentence because I was blubbering. When I was a child, I was horribly shy, and when someone picked on me, my father would beg me to stand up for myself, but I just couldn't. As I have grown up, I have become a lot more outgoing and not shy at all, but I still can't find the strength to "stand up for myself". I thought of so many hurtful thing I could say to this woman. She was obviously an unfit mother, and a crazy person in general. But I couldn't bring myself to say any of these things to her.
As I'm thinking about it this morning, I really felt like I did the right thing. I am still pretty embarrassed that I cried, but I am thankful that I didn't say those hurtful words that would have come to bite me in the butt later. And, oddly enough, I think I learned a lesson in child-rearing. I think I am going to skip the whole "stand up for yourself!" lesson with my children. No, I don't want them to get run over, but more importantly, I want to teach them that sometimes in life, people will act crazy. Maybe they have had a bad day, maybe they legitimately have a mental issue (like crazy bowling lady), or maybe they just don't understand how the game of bowling works (again, like crazy bowling lady). It is not worth losing your cool over, and more importantly, not worth saying hurtful things back in order to "stand up for yourself". Let it go, because there are going to be crazy situations in life. I called my best friend Sarah afterward and we laughed. It is a crazy story! And I believe it definitely made a good blog post.
In all seriousness, I have a very special favor to ask. Someone very close to my fiance passed away yesterday. He was one of the most important people in Justin's life, and made him happier than most people can. Please pray for my sweetheart and the Quinn family as preparations are made. Please pray for me as I learn how to be a supportive partner and show him love for the weeks and months to come.
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