One of the many reasons I was excited to get to England on this trip was to ease up on my kids. I’m a strict mom, I’ll admit it. But I was particularly aware of how kids are expected, nay required, to be quiet, under control and well-behaved in France. Not that English kids are slobs, but I knew we wouldn’t have to go overboard with the “Bon jour, Madame” thing once we crossed the Chunnel.
So imagine my surprise to discover that my kids are quieter and better-behaved than many of the Brits we’ve encountered. While at the Fashion Museum in Bath, my girls befriended a slightly-older pair of sisters. The museum was, as many here are, ridiculously kid-friendly. The kids had a sticker “hunt and find” page to complete, Georgian period costumes to try and a draw-the-dress-on-the-mannequin coloring station. This made it easy for me to geek-out on the audio guide and truly savor the clothes, while they were happy with their projects.
At the coloring station, I had to wonder if Violet and Lily were being raised by hearing-impaired parents. Imagine a loud kid with an adorable English accent. Now increase the volume by a factor of two. These two girls were positively bellowing at my kids. They were being very sweet—drawing pictures to give my girls, while mine completed their own to exchange with the pair. But I had to bite my tongue to keep from shushing them. I made a few feeble attempts by asking my kids to use “inside voices” like we do back home. But I felt guilty reprimanding my kids when they actually weren’t speaking too loudly at all.
After I was finally able to peel them away, I thought we were off scott free. Until… we walked through the final gallery of “dress of the year” winners. At the end is a staircase leading to the shop and exit. As we mounted the first step, a clear, vigorous voice with lovely English accent bellowed, “Goodbye, Olivia, it was luvly meeting you!”
My ears are still ringing.
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