Skip to main content

A Minnesota Goodbye


Here in Minnesota we have something known as, "The Minnesota Goodbye."  Approximately an hour before you actually leave you announce that you're leaving, proceed to say goodbye to everyone in the room; individually, chat for a few minutes, gather your belongings and then, finally depart.  It's annoying, expected and a hard trap not to fall into.

Parents of toddlers have a similar dance that they play, every time they are about to leave some place; especially if the location is particularly fun.

"Five more minutes Sally, five more minutes and then we're leaving."

The amount of time is really quite arbitrary.  Sally doesn't know what five minutes is and thus it is really up to the parent to decide how much longer they're going to stay.  But without that initial warning all hell can go loose in an instant.

"Two more minutes Sally.  Yes, I know you don't want to leave, but everyone is leaving too."

The parent talks a bit more, gathers the pile of things necessary for a successful outing with a toddler; diaper bag, sippy cup, shoes, and begins their own Minnesota goodbye.  Usually after the inital five minute warning the actual time that has elapsed is closer to twenty minutes.  At least it is if you're me.

"Alright Sally, it's time to go.  Yes, it's hard to leave, but we'll come back again soon."

Cue tantrum.  If you're name is Little Lady this is your favorite course of action.  No amount of prepping, Minnesota goodbye-ing or bribing can stave off this beast.  It kind of makes me wonder:  

Is the sign of a successful outing/play date a tantrum?  If so, are they really worth it?

The answer if yes, of course, a tantrum among friends is much better than a tantrum at home.

Comments

  1. Kelly B.July 26, 2010 at 3:37 PM

    Great post!! So very true!

    ReplyDelete
  2. SarahfJuly 26, 2010 at 8:11 PM

    The Minnesota goodbye sounds like the Irish goodbye. It just seems to take forever, even without kids to consider.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Did It!

Yep, that's right. I am a student again! A few weeks ago I started receiving emails from the Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) department at Hamline. They looked like mass emails about job openings and announcements. It was either a cruel joke or I had been admitted but not received my acceptance letter. After two days of emails and two days of trying not to get excited I finally called at 4:55 one afternoon (the office closes at 5). I told the woman on the phone that either Hamline was very good at playing cruel jokes on prospective students, or was I really admitted? She laughed and said, "Congratulations, you are a grad student." A grad student!? I'm a grad student! So I hurriedly filled out my FAFSA and got to worrying about how I was going to pay for it. Then Friday I got my Financial Aid info and sure enough, the government is more than happy for me to add onto my student loan debt. Now just to figure out how to reorganize my time to study, find a prog...
6 comments
Read more

Lady in the Sky, With Broccoli

We've had a whirlwind, chaotic, hectic, exciting week.  It was a week of fixes, car naps, quick meals and heat.  Oh, the heat!  I finally feel like today we had the chance to tone things down and take a breath.  The Little Lady and I were left to our devices for the evening while the Mr. took a much deserved night off.  We had a light dinner and then went outside for our favorite pre-bed activity, Bubble Chasing.  (Well, she chases, I blow).  The following conversation ensued. Laying in the grass: MP: Hey LL, look at all those clouds! LL:  Yeah mom, clouds. MP:  What do you see up there?  I see bunny ears! LL:  They just puffy mama. MP: (Humph, this might not work...) LL:  Mama, I see Lady! MP: (Getting excited)  That's great, what's she doing? LL:  Lady in Sky, with Broccoli.  I like Broccoli! MP: Well, yes, it does look like broccoli.  What else do you see? LL:  Poop in a glass.  Ha...
3 comments
Read more

A Confession

First let me come clean.  I'm pregnant. Now, let the next thirty-one weeks commence where I talk of nothing else except my growing belly, appetite and need for Cheetos.  Not really, but I will say this; I'm tired.  So tired that normal everyday tasks that should only take me a few minutes suddenly sit around, unfinished, for days at a time.  Examples?  The dishwasher, the dirty dishes, groceries (the non-perishable ones, duh), folding the laundry, making the bed.  I mean, there are much better things to do, like, stuff handfuls of popcorn in my mouth while watching all the episodes of Angel, in order.  Don't judge me, I am returning to school in a few weeks; maybe this is just me trying desperately to channel myself as a Freshman in college?  Who the heck knows.  What I do know that my "golden time," or nap time as it is commonly called, was once used to clean, cook, tidy up, rest and blog.  Well, you know how much blogging I've done o...
3 comments
Read more