Security guards know best

December 26, 2008 - 9:21 AM by Jessica

9899rain1As the Israeli winter weather finally blew in this week — just in time for our winter holidays — I gave a mournful goodbye to the sunny weather that’s been with us for so many months, and which made it so easy to head out of the house every day with the stroller and twin babies in tow. Yes, yes, as residents of this dry state, we’re supposed to always lament the lack of rain, particularly during the rainy winter season. And I do. But as a new mother who’s eager to get out of the house every day and be reminded of the world out there, sunny skies are more than helpful toward that end.

But on the first blustery day I decided I wouldn’t be deterred, even though we don’t have a rain cover for our stroller, and I bundled up the boys in fleeces and their BundleMe bags, cozy sleeping bags that keep them protected from all sorts of weather. I had garbage bags under the stroller in case of serious rain, and the hood of the stroller opened, which really kept them protected from the wind. And so I headed out with my mother-in-law for a 15-minute walk to some local stores. When we reached the first store, we walked in and I immediately checked the boys to see if they were at all perturbed by the weather. Trust me, they were snug and dry, and sleeping.

Yet the older man who was the guard sitting at the entrance to the store was not at all happy to see that I had taken two babies outside. Rising from his chair, he came over to me, wagging his finger in my face. “What do you think you’re doing, taking babies outside in this kind of weather?” he admonished. “Shame on you!”

Luckily, I have enough of a sense of humor not to be completely annoyed by what I know is typical Israeli bossiness and in-your-face behavior. I also remembered a story my sister tells, when she took her firstborn — now 22 years old — out of the house on a rainy winter day, and a butcher, wearing his bloody apron and brandishing a bloody knife, came storming out of his shop, waving his knife at her and telling her she should be arrested for taking out a child on a “day like this.”

So I just smiled and walked on. And then I went home and ordered the rain canopy. After all, I hope it’s a rainy winter.

Tags: , , • Category: Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Life 

Comments

2 Comments on Security guards know best

  1. Louis the scooterer on Sat, Dec 27th 2008 7:48 AM

    2. Good for you..you should introduce them to all types of weather, and when they walk and run..let them go “singing-in-the-rain”.

  2. Nicky on Sun, Dec 28th 2008 8:50 AM

    3. Ah, the wisdom of the great Israeli public…
    You’re just at the start, believe me.
    They will tell you it’s too cold to take your baby out, too hot, their clothes aren’t warm enough, they are too warm, they don’t have a hat, why aren’t they wearing sunscreen, why are you still breastfeeding, why aren’t you still breastfeeding, are you really going to give them that to eat….
    Now I take it in good heart. The truth is that Israelis love babies, and this is just one way of expressing it.

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