Kids in Public

There are some places that are clearly kids territory out in public and obviously some that aren't. The most controversial are the places where it is in the eye of the beholder about who belongs where.

We were at Dave and Busters a couple of weeks ago for my niece's birthday party. On this Saturday morning it was a sea of kids four feet tall and under and two single guys had the misfortune to be sharing a ball return with a bunch of five to seven year old girls. I don't know why they stayed when they saw they had entered birthday party central; maybe they were pedophiles or just socially inept.

During the party, one little girl made the mistake of walking in front of one of the men and was going to use his lane, but I stopped her. At this point the guy lost it and was telling me to watch the kids and whined "but they are using my ball".

"I was watching them. Did you notice the little girl's ball didn't go down your lane? As for your ball, there are 15 other kids here, I am not going to pay attention to which color ball each of them use" was my reply. I wasn't about to back down for this masochist who was seriously in the wrong place.

And then there are the times I am in the wrong place. Last summer we did a road trip to San Francisco for one of M's triathlons. On the way back we spent a few days in Monterey. Not wanting the eat every meal for a week in a restaurant where "do you want fries with that?" is standard I consulted a tour book that said there was a seafood restaurant that although it had linen table clothes, kids were welcome. Obviously the person at the restaurant who submitted it's kid friendly listing to this guide book failed to pass the information onto the rest of the staff.

I made a reservation and when we arrived there was a look of horror on the hostess's face. We were promptly seated next to the kitchen even though the restaurant was nearly empty. The food was exquisite and they did have a high chair that they probably dug out of storage and were eventually able to find some crayons and children's menus, but there was definitely an air that we weren't wanted there. They still took our money and the next day we found the strip of family friendly restaurants closer to the aquarium.

I went to the FBR Open with the kids this week. There are two distinct groups that go to the Open- those that are golf fans and those that people watch. If you are there to people watch, I would be considered insane for bringing a 5 and 3 year old to the Open and have overheard such opinions.

I bring the kids to watch a sport that I have played for years and understand. It is easier to watch the golf without the kids, but I would have missed out on Phil Mickelson giving my daughter his ball after he made a birdie putt on the 17th green a couple of years ago. The single me would not understand the mom in sneakers pushing a stroller at the Open, but she never made a memory like that or ever got such a prized souvenir.

And just maybe it isn't a publicity stunt for the players to give kids their golf balls. Maybe they want to share their love of golf with the people who are there to actually watch the game.