Wakey, wakey....

I have children and I fully appreciate how difficult it can be to find child care. That being said, it never bothers me when someone has to bring their children to their doctor's appointments. I have coloring books and picture books in the waiting room and will turn on cartoons if I have children waiting. However, it's incidents like this that really test my patience.

A young (late twenties) man brought his mother-in-law in for her appointment. He brought along with him his two-year-old son. The little boy was adorable and very well behaved as he sat on a chair and looked at a book.

As I was sitting here at my desk I suddenly heard a grumble come from the waiting room. I look up to see the dad slouched down in his chair fast asleep and snoring. The little boy continue to sit there and look at picture books while his daddy slept. This went on for about 10 minutes.

As I was assisting a patient with scheduling an appointment I heard a crash, again, coming from the waiting room. I look over to see the little guy had dumped the basket of books and crayons all over the floor. No big deal - he's two.

Dad, however, hasn't budged. He's still sawing logs.

I continue to help the patient I was with, trying not to show my increasing frustration as I see the little boy begin to throw every magazine, brochure and flyer in our waiting room on the floor. Dad's still snoozing.

I finish with the patient and she and her husband get ready to leave the office. As they put on their coats and start to walk out the door Junior takes off - out the door and down the handicapped ramp. The patient's husband runs after him as I jump from my chair and run into the waiting room. The escapee is wrangled and brought back into the office crying.

Dad is STILL ASLEEP.

I go over and tap him on the shoulder, he doesn't budge.

I tap harder.

He wakes up, looks at me and says (I can't make this crap up): "What the fuck?"

"Would you mind waking up and looking after your son? He's trashing our waiting room just ran out the front door!"

He literally says NOTHING to me. No response whatsoever. I don't really know what I was expecting. He says nothing to his son - just takes out his cellphone and stares at it.

The patient and her husband (who caught the little guy) just stand there in disbelief. I thank them and say goodbye as I start to pick up the things on the floor. Dad doesn't move as he watches me pick up while his son is sitting on the floor crying.

Grandma comes out and asks Dad why Junior is crying. Dad's answer: "I dunno." So, I tell her that he wasn't happy because another patient prevented him from escaping into our parking lot. Grandma rolls her eyes, looks at her son-in-law and calls him a jackass.