For some odd reason my neighborhood has been targeted lately for a crazy influx of solicitors. You name it and that product has been pitched to us. We have probably the second largest (if not the biggest) fig tree in Georgia in our front yard. So, like any good salesperson, they will use that as the opener… “I’m admiring your fig tree”, “That is the biggest fig tree I have ever seen”, “What a beautiful fig tree”….. And since the figs are starting to come in let me go ahead and put this disclaimer out there – don’t touch my fig tree unless you have mine or my husband’s permission. The figs are for our family and friends first. You would be surprised how many random people stop to ask if they can pick figs.
Sorry, I digress….. Back to these solicitors. It doesn’t matter if I tell them we are not interested or to please not come back; I will get another knock a week or two later. Do these companies not track the homes they know won’t buy anything as to not waste their time with them? I guess we never noticed it before with both of us being out of the house at work, and now I’m home with Jack. What part of “NO” do these people not understand? I get that everyone needs to make a living, and I will give you a chance, but enough is enough. And I have to throw out there how annoying it is to answer the door with a five month old to someone you don’t know. What is really funny to watch with these guys is when they hear my two dogs growling and the look on their face when I open the door to two large (and not very happy because they don’t know you) labs telling them they will bite their head off if any attempts are made to come into this house and get anywhere near me or Jack. I really love how protective my dogs are.
My husband and I have talked through calling the various companies to complain, putting up a sign, building a fence around the yard, any ideas to keep these unwanted solicitors out…. Basically, unless you are selling thin mints or popcorn (isn’t that what boy scouts sell?) then don’t come knocking on my door.
These solicitors got me thinking about how evasive everyday people are in our lives with their opinions, soliciting their opinions. This gets particularly bad when you have a baby. Everyone in the world seems to know the right way to raise your baby. The first couple of weeks after we got home from the hospital, I just wanted to try to figure things out for myself. I think any new mom can relate to that desire. I would get phone calls, text messages, emails – everything on what I needed to do, how I needed to do it and when it needed to get done. At times I would wonder how these people even knew I was dealing with said particular issue. With a newborn, the last thing you have time to do is facebook or call someone to tell them you don’t know what’s going on with your child. As Jack gets a little older (I know five months seems like he has been on this earth an eternity!), the advice then turns to how you should be losing weight, how you should be spending your time and money, cleaning your house, activities you should be doing, even on relationships in your life. Now before I go any further let me interject a very important piece of advice (which is going against the point of this blog) but may actually save your life one day – NEVER, and I truly mean NEVER talk to a woman who has just had a baby about her weight. And that “just had” extends to at least a year, if not longer….
Ok, now back to our regularly scheduled program – unwanted solicitation… Does having a baby put this invisible to you sign on your head that says “I no longer know how to live everyday life????” At times I have to wonder if people think I am capable of living everyday life and making competent decisions. Please understand this does not include where I ask for advice or am talking one-on-one with someone about a situation and they voice their opinion. I’m talking about where out of the blue people start telling you their opinion on your life without any prompting. What really gets me is when I am being told I need to do something.
I feel overall I’m a pretty decent person. By no means am I this two-headed, immature monster that would warrant needing directives. I have a good heart (well, not medically speaking), I’ve made good decision for the majority of my life (hey, who doesn’t make a mistake or two down the road) and I try to surround myself with solid people. When left to my own accord, I do the right thing for myself and my family. So, bottom line is, in more areas than one, unless you’re selling thin mints, no solicitation!!
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