Tales from Ballet School

I overheard a mom telling this story while I waited for the girls at ballet last week. It's so awesome, I almost wish it had happened to me so I can claim credit, but I can't. Somewhere out there is a mom named Melanie, who has a child in Hannah's ballet class. This is what happened to her last Tuesday.

Her daughter never really asks for much. One of those children that is happy with something small from the dollar store, and doesn't beg for expensive stuff from commercials. However, a few months before her birthday, this little girl saw a doll in a magazine. A doll she HAD to have. For the first time in her little life, she really wanted something, so her mother decided that she would get it for her birthday. It was one of those "lifelike" collectors dolls that usually are advertised in magazines.

The little girl's birthday came, and she got her doll and she was ecstatic. She immediately became attached, and the doll went everywhere with her. Last Tuesday, they (the mom, the little girl, and the doll) were riding in the car down the interstate, headed home after an afternoon of errands. The mom was driving under the speed limit, taking her time, enjoying the afternoon. At that moment, her daughter decided that her baby was crying. She became upset and begged her mom to help her make her baby feel better.

The mom did what most parents in that situation would do: whatever it takes to make your real kid stop crying. So she took the doll from her daughter, propped it on her shoulder, and made a show of patting it and consoling it while she was driving. It was at that moment when she saw lights in her rear view mirror. She was being pulled over by a state trooper. She once again checked her speed, confused as to what she had done. She pulled over, nervous and her mind racing about what it could be. As the officer walked up to her window, she pulled out her license and insurance.

The trooper knocked on her window.

"Do you know why I pulled you over today?"

"Um, no?"

The officer looks down at her shoulder and points.

"Babies are supposed to ride in car seats, ma'am."

Now, let me break here for a second to say that I think she handled this a lot better than I would have. I'm not sure I would have even been able to talk, because I would have been LAUGHING MY BUTT OFF.

Anyway, she pulled the doll off her shoulder saying "Um, it's a DOLL, I was pretending to comfort it for my daughter. Here, see? TAKE IT." The officer declined to take the doll, flustered, and seeming not sure what to say next. He ended up telling her to maybe try holding it lower next time to avoid confusion, and they both went on their way.

Life > Fiction. You really can't make this stuff up.