Being a stay at home Dad means spending at least 45 minutes per day camped out at the local cafe. Did I really say this was hard work? Anyway, given that I am usually a "Nigel no-mates" (odd Kiwi expression, no offence to my good friend Nigel the builder) I like to eavesdrop on the conversations of those seated nearby. Sad, intrusive, but an effective time waster.
Today's conversation was between two dedicated mothers. However, it wasn't really a conversation. Earnest Mother tells a purportedly interesting story about her kid. Sensible Mother appears to be vigorously listening. Not so. Sensible Mother is really thinking about a related story about her kid. And so the pattern of conversation continues between earnest mother and sensible mother. Back and fourth it goes. They seem happy enough.
I started scoring each story out of ten. Earnest mother won easily following a particularly gross tale about toilet training. This toilet training story included a hungry family dog, Daddy's prized smurf collection and a potato masher. A bizarre, yet moving yarn.
In my former life as a semi-functioning member of a government agency, my sage colleague Uncle Dave warned me of this parental borefest. I hate when he is right.
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