Total disregard
@GardenGerty (160626)
United States
August 16, 2024 6:36am CST
I was talking with someone about how some people do not think rules apply to them. My mom in some aspects was a strict rule follower, but sometimes was not and I remember something she did that was totally disrespectful and possibly could have had dire consequences.
Let me say that from the earliest I remember, Mom always thought her folks were "about to die". Even when nothing was wrong. "I need to spend Christmas with my parents, they may not live another year" etc.
Grandpa was sick and was in the VA hospital near where he lived. I barely remember this, I must have been about 8 years old. We were going to see him. I DO remember Mom noticed a rash on my brothers chest and stomach, and said "we will just tell people it is flea bites or chiggers." We never had flea bites. I think grandpa actually visited us in a day room or waiting room. This would have been early 1960's--no masks, sanitizer, etc.
My brother had chicken pox. I came down with it a few days later.
Usually Mom explained that children under 12 could not go up to hospital rooms, etc. in any hospital, because kids often had contagious illnesses. But she ignored the idea of keeping my brother out, because it was HER dad and she wanted him to see my brother, etc.
I hope no one got sick with chicken pox or shingles, which can happen when vulnerable people are exposed to chicken pox.
I can remember being mildly scandalized even then.
Oh, and Mom would never steal from anyone, but she would take starts of plants from public places and people she did not even know. As adults my brother was always afraid he would have to bail her out from someplace.
Do as I say, not as I do. Rules are for everyone else.
14 people like this
13 responses
@snowy22315 (180469)
• United States
16 Aug
There alot of people who think rules don't apply to them .look at all the speeders for instance .guilty as charged!
3 people like this
@GardenGerty (160626)
• United States
17 Aug
I knew someone who was wanting to be a counselor of some kind and she and her family were in process of moving to McPherson, but her husband was still someplace else working to support them. Attending a Christian college, and she had an affair with this guy that was in the community. He also attending said Christian college. Both of them knew the moral rules that they chose to violate.
1 person likes this
@sharonelton (28727)
• Lichfield, England
17 Aug
My Grandma Brown and Simeon were exactly the opposite! I was scared they were going to be arrested for driving too slow!
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (82710)
• United States
16 Aug
Guilty as charged!! I've also taken starts of plants
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (160626)
• United States
17 Aug
I think you need to be careful about whose plant you are taking starts of. Another story about my mom, and grandma. I guess we visited Will Rogers Rose Gardens (in OKC) and my dear ladies saw a worker pruning roses. They asked if she would give them some of the cuttings. They had crazy talents for propagating them. The worker said she could not give them any, but she could show them where the cuttings were discarded.
@BarBaraPrz (47274)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
16 Aug
I think just about any plant lover has taken a "start" from at least one plant in their life. I know I have. But ignoring your brother's chicken pox... Did she later blame it on the hospital visit?
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (160626)
• United States
17 Aug
No, I am pretty sure she knew he was sick beforehand.
1 person likes this
@much2say (55562)
• Los Angeles, California
16 Aug
Yep, that's just the quote I was thinking of! When I was pregnant (and I never had chicken pox/shingles), my mother in law invited everyone to Thanksgiving. It wasn't until the night before that she mentioned as a side note that she had shingles . . . why did she not bother to call Tday off? She didn't think anything of it it she said, because she thought everyone was already exposed to chicken pox/shingles .
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160626)
• United States
17 Aug
Your unborn baby sure had not been exposed. And being exposed does not give you immunity.
1 person likes this
@much2say (55562)
• Los Angeles, California
23 Aug
@GardenGerty Yep - MIL was certainly wrong about it.
@just4him (317040)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
17 Aug
@GardenGerty Family member, yes. I know others who aren't family members and live an entitled life they don't deserve.
@JudyEv (339586)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Aug
I sometimes wonder about myself. I have broken rules that have seemed utterly ridiculous but I can't remember what they were now. I wouldn't break a rule if there was the least chance of something awful happening but if the rule seemed stupid enough, I might be tempted to break it.
2 people like this
@annierose (21583)
• Philippines
16 Aug
Wow, that’s quite a story! It’s amazing how some people, even the most well-meaning, can have those moments where their emotions and desires take precedence over the rules. Your mom clearly loved her family deeply, but it’s understandable that you’d feel a bit conflicted about how she handled those situations. It’s a reminder of how our perspectives on rules can shift when emotions are involved. I’m sure those memories are a mix of affection and a bit of bewilderment at her actions.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (222855)
• Chile
16 Aug
I felt very near your mom when you wrote about taking starts from plants EVERYWHERE. I have been raised in this kind of theft although I would not dream of stealing anything else.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160626)
• United States
17 Aug
And that is actually true of my mom. You could leave her in a room full of money that belonged to someone else and she would not take a cent. I mostly worried when she came to visit me in San Diego area and would walk around at night and try to get starts of some of the succulents on people's porches.
@wolfgirl569 (105945)
• Marion, Ohio
16 Aug
My mother followed rules and expected us to.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160626)
• United States
17 Aug
Mostly mine did too, except in those situations.
1 person likes this
@mom210 (9117)
• United States
16 Aug
I think many of us justify things at various times in our lives. I was thinking about my own father while reading this, how I might have by passed many rules, just to see him again. He's been gone for 28 years. I miss his smiling face and wonderful hugs so much
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160626)
• United States
17 Aug
I am sure you miss him very much. I just wonder why mom could not leave him with dad in the car, or something.
@RasmaSandra (79714)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
16 Aug
I always thing that when people think rules don't apply to them are asking for trouble,
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160626)
• United States
17 Aug
Sometimes it could be very serious.
1 person likes this
@sharonelton (28727)
• Lichfield, England
16 Aug
Oh, gosh! That wasn't very good!
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160626)
• United States
17 Aug
No, it was not good to have him in the hospital and contagious.
1 person likes this
@sharonelton (28727)
• Lichfield, England
17 Aug
@GardenGerty No, definitely not! The whole hospital could have gone down with it!