Etiquette -- Old Hat or Good Sense???

And your sweetiepie enjoys your attention, of course! Who wouldn't? I particularly appreciate having the door of a car opened for me if I'm dressed up and have on high heels, a long skirt or a big coat; if I'm holding a child or a dog or carrying a package; also if I'm ill or tired. I consider it an extremely gentle, caring gesture. It doesn't make me feel inferior at all.



As a matter of fact, I have a traditional marriage and am now "just a housewife." I also have a good college degree plus I used to run my own technical writing business and made a good living at it. There is nothing wrong, in my opinion, with being a housewife. That may be where I separate myself from standard feminist thought, even though I KNOW I'm a feminist. I also know how demanding it is to run a big house and how important I am to the people I live with, to our real estate investments, and through my volunteer work, to my community. Nobody is going to make me feel bad about my choices. It is total BS, imo, to think that somebody who has a boring drudge office job is more important than another person who manages a home. The discounting of "feminine role work" won't go far with me.

Lost-My-Calgon -- Good list! You're right, it is important for parents with children to be given extra slack when they're shopping. It can be hard to manage and you have to do some major planning ahead. One of our grocery stores provides nifty, fun-looking carts with room for up to four kids and a cleverly contained area for the food. It seems to be really popular with moms.

About the aisles of Wal-Mart... I'm assuming they are too small. That reminds me of one of my categories of pet peeves -- parking lots. Arrrggh. Small spaces and the annoyingly big cars who park there or take up more than their fair share. Car Etiquette may be such a big subject that Plain Old Me will prefer that we move that to a different thread.

Piffka- I never once suggested that being a homemaker was not a perfectly wonderful choice. What I was alluding to, was that in years past, there was very little choice.

Having been a stay at home mom myself for some years, I certainly know the importance of the position. I truly believe that kids are better off with a parent at home, at least until they start school.

The problem was, that in years past, being "just a housewife", as a career, did not garner much respect. I am at an age where I have seen both sides. I grew up during the fifties, when life was very traditional, and lived through the rise of feminism.

OK, well, we're agreed on that then!

How do you feel about parking lot etiquette?

Parking lot etiquette?- No, I don't fight someone for a parking spot. I will characteristically back off. Who knows what's on the floor of the pickup truck!

Also, I NEVER park in handicapped spaces. I think that people that do are inconsiderate jerks. In fact, I usually go to the end of where all the cars are. I can use the exercise!

If someone cuts me off on the highway, I may mumble under my breath, but I never flip them the bird. I think that that is the height of rudeness.

Flipping the bird is the height of rudeness? That's mild! I'd rather be flipped off than run off the road, which has happened around here. I live near Tacoma which is apparently the new, most-stressed city. (What was the old one? I don't know). You would know people were stressed here though if you drove on interstate 5 or spent time waiting, waiting, waiting to cross the Narrows Bridge. There is some scary, dangerous stuff that goes on.

I was thinking of parking lot rudeness like taking two places, bashing your door against another person's car, not moving to the side if you're waiting for a parking place so the people behind you can continue their search, leaving your shopping cart in the middle of the lot instead of returning it to the designated area.

I even get irritated with people who decide to walk diagonally across the intersection instead of going straight across and getting out of my way.