Today after work I went to the laundromat. Unfortunately eight of the single load washing machines were out of order, while the seven of the remaining eight were in use. Of course I had exactly two loads of laundry to do - one white, one colors. Merging them together and using one of the double load washers (and washing in cold) wasn't an option; I needed to wash my work pants, which as usual were super disgusting and filthy.
One of the other cooks dumped relleno flour on my leg earlier in the day.
I was forced to do one load at a time in the sole remaining washer.
The thing is, four of the operational washers were being used by someone who wasn't there. They had started their laundry and left. Although I couldn't really blame them for leaving, I could blame them for not combining some of those loads into the double or triple load machines. That would have saved her some quarters and left a machine or two open for anyone else who needed a washer.
I let it go as best as I could. The fault really belonged to the laundromat for not having all the machines running.
I washed my first load. As soon as it was done I tossed it into the dryer and started my second load. No problem. It even worked out kind of nice since the stain remover that I'd sprayed on my work pants had time to sit while the first load was washing.
Way to make lemonade out of lemons, right?
And then she came in - the worst mother in the world, the idiot who was hogging all the single load washers instead of using the bigger machines. I have seen this woman at the laundromat a few times before. She has four out of control kids and the brains of a lint filter.
In all fairness, her kids really aren't that bad but she just ignores them. She expects her oldest - a daughter of about 12 - to control the three younger boys, yet at the same time help out with the laundry. The girl really does try, but it's fairly clear that she's just not old enough to control three young boys, especially while trying to do laundry at the same time.
Meanwhile the mother can only seem to berate the poor girl.
I honestly feel sorry for the daughter, since it's fairly clear that she's the one responsible for raising her younger brothers. Obviously the three boys are given no boundaries by their mother. The girl is simply overwhelmed and lacks the maturity to handle the situation. Half the time she's just acting like a kid herself, which is to be expected.
When the laundry is just spinning and the mother has some free time, she spends it either on her cell phone or flirting it up with the male patrons. (I escape this because a) I'm the obnoxious guy on the cell phone; and b) I'm usually the fat "older" when younger, fresher meat is available). She doesn't pay any attention to the kids, who continue to run wild. Occasionally she'll notice that her youngest has disappeared, causing her to harass the older daughter to go after the missing miscreant.
The only time she seems to interact with any of the other kids is when she tells them to "grow up." I'm pretty sure what she's really saying is "take care of yourselves, because it's too much of a pain in my ass to be a parent."
Again, my sympathies lie most with that older daughter. I'm sometimes tempted to pull the girl aside and say "Look, your mother is a useless tramp who doesn't give a shit about her kids. You already know this. If there's any hope for your family YOU are going to have to be the one to take care of everybody. Go read some books, find some resources on the internet, and join a support group or something. It's all on you, so you should do it right and get as much help as you can."
Of course that's just too obnoxious for even me to say to a 12-year-old girl, so I keep my mouth shut. The sad thing is that it's complete true. Poor kids.
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