I just don't understand some people.

Some people piss me off so bad, it's all I can do to grab them and shake the shit out of them.

Yesterday, I went to my daughter's basketball game and I have a lot of fun at these games because I love to cheer the girls on and encourage them. They do respond to the parents in the bleachers, whether we're screaming, "BLOCK THAT SHOT! BLOCK IT!" or "SHOOT THE BALL! SHOOT THE BALL!" There is a group of mothers that come to every game, and although we don't have a lot in common because I am, on average, 15-20 years younger than them, they are right there with me cheering our girls on, stomping their feet, and basically having a good time.

Well, right when the game started yesterday, this lady walks in and sits on the Lake Fenton side. (Our side). She doesn't sit with any of the rest of us; she sits as far away from us as possible, on the bottom seat of the left hand side. None of the moms behind me mentioned recognizing her at first, but after a few minutes one of them whispered to the other, "Isn't that so and so's mom?" Someone else responded, "Oh, yeah, that is her, isn't it?"

This woman did not even glance at the court. She brought a newpaper, that she had tucked under her arm, and proceeded to spend the entire basketball game reading the newspaper. Every time our team had a particularly good play, or whenever we scored any points, I glanced over at her to see if she was watching. She was not. She had her nose buried in the paper.

There she sat until the game was over. I got up and approached the Coach to ask him a question, and while I was waiting in line, I looked over at her once more. Her daughter was standing there telling her, "I scored six points, mom!" Her mother replied with a disconnected, uninterested, "Umm hmmm," as she finished reading her article. I couldn't believe my fucking eyes AND ears. Doesn't she care? Her daughter is a really good player on the team, very popular with her teammates, and works hard out on the court. Doesn't this woman care? Doesn't she know that the key to keeping your child out of trouble is being there, being involved, and spending time? Doesn't she know that she is literally throwing her daughter out to the wolves by showing her that her accomplishments and successes are insignificant? I am only 28 years old...this woman appears to be over 40. Surely she isn't stupid. What is she? Lazy? Totally confident that her child will excel in anything so it's not important to encourage her? I don't get it. I do not understand it. WHAT is the point of coming if all you're going to do is a read a newspaper?

My daughter chattered nonstop as we were leaving the court, and I glanced over at the mom and her daughter one more time. Mom was standing up, folding her newspaper under her arm, and the daughter was just standing there looking slightly dejected. As I passed by her, I said, "GOOD game. You did a really good job today." She looked up at me and smiled. "Thanks," she replied, a little shyly.

My daughter got annoyed. "Mom...are you listening to me?" she asked me curtly, and without waiting for me to respond, continued chattering about the game, what Coach said, what her friend Amanda did, about her debate team meeting the following night.....

I wanted to say, "Yes. I am listening. I am always listening," but I couldn't get a word in edgewise. Oh well. At least my kid talks to me.