Parenting Magazine

Dear Telemarketers Working for Charities: This Is for You, from a Mom at Home with Her Kids

By Thepracticalmommy2 @PracticalMommy2
Just as I put my niece down for her nap, and helped my son use the potty, my house phone rings. Since the only usable house phone is in my kitchen downstairs (who calls my house phone, anyway?), I need to run down the stairs and traverse across the baby barriers before it wakes up the sleeping toddler. At the precise moment my hand touches the receiver, my son and daughter decide to bicker, loudly in a blood-curdling screaming kind of way.
"Hello?" Me, breathless. Kids, battling. "Hello??"
No answer, but at the moment I'm about to hang up, I hear "Hello, yes, um, just so you know this call may be monitored for...", kids screaming, "...purposes. My name is so-and-so from " " and we'd like...".
At that moment, I can no longer hear anything. Mama Bear takes over.
"I'm sorry, but I have two kids to deal with right now".
A voice on the other side turns nasty. "But Ma'am!!".
'But Ma'am?' 'But Ma'am?'!!!  I'm sorry, who are you? Don't get me wrong; when I can, I certainly donate to charities. Money has been tight at times, but when I can, I give. Don't you dare expect me to let my kids, ages 3 and 1, fight to the death while you think you have something very important to tell me on the phone that I have already heard from 20 others calling for the same thing. I was polite when I told you I have more important business to attend. You can at least have the decency to understand that.
'But Ma'am!'
Do you use that tone of voice with all of your customers? Bad form. No really, thanks for calling. I appreciate the effort: I just do not appreciate your tone. I was not being rude: I was being a mom, which was far more important than listening to you.
At the moment I heard "Ma'am", I hung up the phone. I am needed elsewhere.

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