Everyone has them and sometimes they aren’t discussed but after Fridays experience it is time to put a few of them out there. I have many pet peeves and probably won’t even remember all of them for the purposes of this entry I will start with a few.

(We will start small… this won’t last long)

• People who don’t allow you to get off of the elevator before they try and cram themselves in.
• People that you have meet several times in business meetings but don’t feel the need to acknowledge your existence when they see you in the hallway or cafeteria. Yes there are exceptions to this but frankly it’s rare.
• People who think that certain work is beneath them.
• Trust Fund babies who don’t know the value of a dollar. I just happen to work with one of these. By the way the pet peeve just above this one applies to this person as well. They treat people below them like crap and then smile at management. To bad not everyone is as naive as this person thinks.
• People who don’t reciprocate a friendship. I have had to let go of a few friends over the years. It was too exhausting. After years of them not being able to make the time for me I decided I wasn’t’ going to make the time for them anymore.
• Anyone who talks down to you and assumes that you don’t know things because they haven’t taken the time to get to know you. Because… remember… it’s beneath them.
• People who give you advice about raising your children because in fact they do not have any and of course they would be the best sources of this information… yeah right.
• People who are racist or sexist. I have no patience for people of this sort.
• People who make promises that they never intend on keeping.
• People, who mistreat, ignore or abuse their children. Having children is a gift not a right. Sometimes I think people should have to get a license to have children. Just my opinion. A good friend of mine said that she didn’t’t “get it” until after she had children. I agree with that. Many people just don’t “get it” until they have something (doesn’t’t always have to be children) that is totally and solely dependent on them for their survival.
• People who don’t understand when family comes first. Some of these people would rather go out and act juvenile and irresponsible. Not always but often. These people don’t “get it” either.
• People who will argue with you because you don’t agree with their point of view.  Primarily this tends to happen when discussing the war efforts.  It is a huge topic for many people.  I have a colleague that is going over for his second trip overseas.  He has a wife and two young children.  Frankly, I thank god everyday that there are people who are willing and able to fight for the very freedom that I enjoy.

I know I am forgetting many of the pet peeves I have. My last but not least (at least for today) my biggest pet peeve is people that refer to children with any disability as “mentals”. Yes this happened to me. My oldest (5 years old) has gone through special education for 3 and 4 year olds. He needed help with his fine and gross motor skills and some speech. Being a boy they are sometimes lagging in the speech department. It was a program that was free so why not take advantage and send him. Well in the class they have special ed students and mentors. In certain respects Walker would act as a mentor and sometimes he would get the extra help that he needs. In this class there was one student that was autistic and would come up to his class for an hour each day. Walker would go up to him and say Hi XXXX my name is Walker. By the end of the day the child spoke up and said “Hi Walker”. Everyone was in awe and so was I when I heard the story. Since then I have met this child’s mother and we have become friends. This child is now doing things in the swimming pool that he otherwise would not do. The mother attributes this to Walker. I feel very fortunate that I have a child that is as compassionate as this. We I was sitting at the pool next to another parent who was talking about her town and how they have a new primary school. They had to limit the number of students based on the size of the school. She was complaining that they had so many spots for the “mentals” therefore not enough for everyone. I was speechless and couldn’t’t think fast enough to say something clever. Anyone who has had a child who is a special needs or even needed extra help with their homework would certainly understand how offensive that comment was. So this is to the mother who lives in Tolland. Good luck to you and raising your child to be understanding of others and to be compassionate. Frankly it doesn’t’t seem like he has a chance with a parent like you.

Well I guess that is it for now because I now there is more I just can’t think of them just this moment.  And yes (for those who are asking) I feel a hell of a lot better. Whew!!