I have been catching up on the Mom & Dad Are Fighting Podcast, so that inspired the title of this post, but I needed to confess about a fail from this afternoon.

LO (3) and I were at the library until closing time. We were in line at the machine to pay for the parking garage, and when it was our turn, LO was trying to help. I let her put one of the tickets in, but was also rushing her along because I was aware of the line behind us. All of a sudden, a young woman stepped up next to me and started reprimanding me, saying, "can you please be nice to her?!" I quickly realized that this young lady had some sort of intellectual impairment, and took no offense at what she was saying, but I also froze up. She kept admonishing me, and I just kept focusing on LO and on finishing the payment process as quickly as possible. A man behind me (possibly her father or brother) was trying to get the woman to stop talking to us, and at one point I heard him say, "you're embarrassing me!" I still didn't engage with them, just completed our transaction and headed to the garage. I was immediately and still am so regretful that I didn't talk to either the young woman or to the man with her. To her, I could have explained that I wasn't cross with LO, but was trying to teach her to be respectful of others who are waiting. More importantly, to him, I could have explained that he need not be embarrassed, that I work with neurodiverse students and understand the need for increased teaching around social norms. I had the opportunity to engage with and ease the concerns of two different people and I biffed it. That is my fail of the week.

On the plus side, I have activated LO's interest in show tunes, and the sound of her little voice chirping along to "All That Jazz" from the backseat of the car is everything right now. Triumph.

What are your triumphs and fails from this week?