The Audacity, the Stroller, and the Potty Trainer
I just wanna rant here because I randomly remembered this friend of ours. She has a 3-year-old kid, and one time my partner and I were out when she messaged him and sent a screenshot of a potty trainer saying, “Can you buy this for us?” My partner just replied that we weren’t at the mall. Like… why did she even think it was okay to ask my partner to buy something for her kid? She has a husband. And she could literally order it online. Her child is not our responsibility.
There was also another time when they wanted us to pick them up from their house so we could all go to dinner together. We told them to just take a taxi because the stroller wouldn’t fit in the trunk, and somehow they still had the audacity to get mad about it.
And honestly, we started noticing things about the kid too. The child is already 3 years old and still not talking, has really intense tantrums, doesn’t respond when their name is called, and avoids eye contact. I have a background in childcare for kids with autism, so out of genuine concern, I asked if they had ever gotten the child checked. They just said no because the kid is “just chill.”
So now it’s just becoming really irritating because it honestly feels like we’re being gaslighted. And I’ve been trying to be understanding because maybe they really just don’t wanna tell people what condition their kid has, which is their choice. But at the same time, they keep bringing up their child every single time we talk, and then whenever someone asks anything out of concern, they just say the kid is “just chill.” Like… okay then? If you don’t wanna talk about it, then don’t bring it up all the time.
We’ve honestly become distant from them for those reasons too because it started feeling like they only wanted us around whenever it was convenient for them. And honestly, life has been pretty peaceful without them in it anyway.
Anyway, thanks for listening to my rant. Lesson learned: never buy a potty trainer for anyone.