Wednesday, March 5

Strange Lives?

So, the other day I was in the supermarket line, waiting for the woman ahead of me as she s-l-o-w-l-y loaded her groceries onto the belt. As I waited, my eyes wandered to the tabloid headlines. Don't tell me that this doesn't happen to you - I know it does. These headlines frequently amuse me. "Live dinosaur robs museum" etc.

One tabloid had, in 2 inch hot pink letters "Inside the Strange Life of Suri Cruise" with these bullet points:

- No TV or Happy Meals
- No medicine ever! Just herbs!
- Scientology play dates

And I thought to myself, sounds like the Cruises are being pretty responsible parents. I mean, I make sure when Aaron has "play dates" that the families we go play with have beliefs that line up with ours. I use herbs to treat certain symptoms. Aaron's never had a Happy Meal, and although he does watch TV, it's pretty limited.

Not that I expected more out of a tabloid, but I do think it would be interesting to meet the editor who thinks these qualities warrant a hot pink "Strange Lives" label. Maybe that editor's kids eat Happy Meals every day? The chuckle that this little supermarket tabloid gave me was big enough that the smile did not leave my face when I realized that the slow grocery loader had forgotten her wallet. I was almost grateful that I'd had so much time on my hands that I'd had to resort to tabloid headlines for reading material.

Almost.

8 comments:

Karen said...

HA! I saw that same headline and kept looking for the strangeness! Olivia loves fries but gets them vvvvvery rarely... doesn't show a lot of interest in TV, thankfully, and has had Benadryl one time, in an emergency. She rarely has playdates, too. Guess we're both pretty strange.

Karis said...

Let's see... since a lot of our time in the van on deputation includes letting Kayla watch DVDs on her portable DVD player and because we do frequent McDonalds often (although I order for her off the dollar menu -- "chicken" nuggets and Apple slices and a free cup of water -- she doesn't know the difference yet that she's not getting the cool box and a toy), does that mean we're normal according to this editor? :-) Like you said, funny that article made the cut.

Rosemary said...

Too bad that you got in the ssslllloooowww lane! I wonder if the 'slow grocery loader' is ok (maybe she has arthritis or something). Poor dear! Too bad that she didn't have someone to help her. Like my dad used to say, "There, but for the grace of God, go I". I was all ready to pay in the checkout line a few years ago and discovered that I didn't have my checkbook ... HOW EMBARRASSING!!! Now, as Dale and I are walking into the grocery store, we ask each other, "Do you have the checkbook or do I?" Thank God that we have each other to get through the grocery shopping and everything :)
Love, Aunt Rosemary

Jenny said...

Aunt Rosemary - it sure would be embarrassing! I felt horrible for her, but I bet she is like you and won't ever forget again! She was talking on her phone while she was loading, so I should have known to pick a different line. ;-) It also explains why she didn't notice her wallet was missing until all the groceries were rung up. I'm sure her grocery shopping trip took a LOT longer than she planned on that day!!

ruth said...

Heh, Jenny, you crack me up. While I do agree with your thoughts on the irony how responsible parenting is perceived as strange... from what little we know of them, I do think that Tom and Katy Cruise are strange people! I mean, you have to have seen clips of the man hopping up and down on Oprah's couch, right? ;)

Rosemary said...

People talking constantly on their cell phones ACK!!! That drives us crazy!!! Especially while driving or doing some other task that takes 2 (TWO) hands - like loading groceries onto the checkout belt. We can't figure out how they can possible have SO much to say! Are we just old-fashioned, or does this bother other people?

Anonymous said...

Very nice Jenny - and I completely agree. That shouldn't be considered strange. Once, I saw an article titled "The boy with tastebuds on his feet." Now THAT would be strange!

Shelldell said...

I like herbs over medicine, it seems safer and less expensive. I wish I had a play date, I don't get them often. A happy meal well it's probably been 25 years when we let our kids only have a happy meal on vacation.
We didn't let our kids watch tv the first 5 years of their lives. We wanted to play, read and be active. I don't think it harmed them. They rent video's now and really don't watch Tv much. Carmen doesn't at all she doesn't own one.