Last Friday night Wesley and I decided to have a family date night so we took Lincoln to Sandy’s Hamburgers. The beauty of Sandy’s is that there is an inside or outside area to eat as well as a drive thru, the food is delicious, affordable, not fast food tasting, and in Lakeway therefore, close to home. We’ve come to the conclusion that we can’t take Lincoln anywhere right now without being embarrassed, but Friday night we were destined to have a perfect night… Lincoln had just woken up from a nap, the weather was perfect, the picnic tables outside Sandy’s are resting on river rocks (Lincoln is obsessed with rocks right now), there are birds everywhere (another Lincoln obsession), Sandy’s isn’t a crowded restaurant type place so if Lincoln was loud and obnoxious he wouldn’t bother anyone, and Sandy’s is just off 620 so there is lots of traffic (Lincoln is also obsessed with Vroom Vrooms {cars}).
I noticed when we walked outside after placing our burger order that there was a man sitting alone at one of the picnic tables reading a book. We looked around to find the perfect table and Wesley chose one that was just next to the man and his book… he chose this table because it was closest to the highway and under a tree. Just as we started to get settled in, the man whipped out a super-sized long cigarette. It very well may have been a normal sized cigarette, but in my eyes it looked enormous and looked like he’d be puffing on it for an eternity. Can you tell yet that Wesley and I are non-smokers??? Naturally the wind was blowing in our direction… perfect! Now our family was being subjected to the smell and affects of this man’s cigarette.
It felt like the man noticed we were about to sit close to him so he thought to himself, “I’ll just pull out my cancer stick to get them to move further away from me with their nuisance of a child.” And so… we did just that. Wesley thought I was being dramatic, but my thought to the man was, “ARE YOU SERIOUSLY SMOKING AROUND MY BABY?!” I’m not saying that every person around us should accommodate the fact that we have a child, and I’m not suggesting that other people not be able to enjoy their meal time with or without a cigarette, but eating burgers takes all of 30 minutes! You mean to tell me that this man couldn’t hold off from lighting his cigarette for 30 more minutes so that everyone could eat and not have to smell his smoke? And it’s not like he couldn’t see that his smoke was blowing directly into the face of my son as it was VERY obvious.
You know, I feel like if he had just acknowledged our existence and said “oh I’m sorry let me move” or “oh here let me put this out” or even just “I’m sorry”, I probably would have said back, “oh it’s fine don’t worry about it” and we would have moved one picnic table over, I wouldn’t have thought about the man and his cigarette for the duration of my meal, and I wouldn’t be blogging about this mystery man today. I’m all for people having a right to ingest what they want into their bodies, but when you exhale something that is proven to be harmful to humans and it is blowing in my child’s direction Mama Bear comes out… Well sort of… she just comes out to the husband not the actual culprit. Poor Wesley.
At the end of the day, we still had a wonderful dinner with Lincoln who was not phased one bit by the Marlboro Man.
I guess I just believe that some smokers should be more courteous when in the presence of children. Is that too much to ask? Am I selfish?
I completely agree! I would get mad at people smoking around me while I was pregnant. I thought it was so rude, like they didn’t care that they were harming my unborn child! Yes, I was kind of a crazy pregnant lady when it came to that stuff! I haven’t had someone smoke around Charlotte yet but I cannot imagine that I would be okay with it or quiet about it!
I 100% agree! I didn’t like people smoking around me before I had a child and especially now that I have a child–eek! DRIVES ME NUTS! I don’t hate smokers–just don’t do it around me and my kiddos lungs!
I take it that Texas does not have the “no smoking within 25 feet of a building’s exit/entrace” law. Too bad! I am militantly against smoking and about having non-smoking dining (or about any other activity where I might be breathing!) choices. I find it absolutely HORRIBLE when someone takes their child to a park and lights up!! It’s such a health hazard for everyone, and sets a bad example for all children that can see them. I also feel that when in a situation that smoking is allowed (such as your dining experience), the smoker should still ask people sitting nearby if they mind them smoking. It would be so easy for that person to simply take a few steps away, enjoy (??????) their cancer stick, and return to their seat. Or, at least give the other people the opportunity to move.
I’ll admit that when you did sit next to him he could have asked you first or warned you… seeing that you have a child… But he was outside in an area where he could smoke…. It was his right… Your option was to sit inside where there is no smoking or to sit somewhere where the smoke would no bother you… So you did the right thing when you moved… And were correct not to say anything since he was perfectly within his rights… You were curtious of him… He on the other hand could have been more curious of you.
First of all I HATE smoking, i’ve never done it and i’m allergic to it so i don’t go around people who do. Having said that I feel that you brought this on yourself. He had every right to smoke right there, without announcing it to the outside tables. He was there first and it is a public place. He could be saying the same thing about you bringing your child to sit next to him. He could be telling his friends he doesn’t understand why you didn’t ask if he minded if you sat near him with your child. When we go out with our daughter we love to sit outside as well but we tend to pick the table that isn’t near anyone or near others with children. If i am around smoke i will move because i am not holding someone else responsible for my health. They don’t have to be cautious to me, it’s their right to smoke. But it is my right not to have to be near it. Just playing devils advocate here, you should look at it from his perspective as well.