You know you're a bad person when...

It's a really terrible feeling, particularly as someone who works with children, when you find yourself laughing at a child who has hurt themselves. However, when said child has spent the last hour annoying everyone in the carriage, including its mother, you sometimes have to have a little giggle. Or in our case, tears streaming down your face as you try to hide your laughter. It really isn't very funny at all and I'm not sure we should be blogging this, but...



The brat was busy with his newest activity - one hand on the arm rest either side of the aisle, and a big swing up in the air, all the way up and down the carriage (I successfully removed our armrest from the game by leaning on it) - when a particularly over zealous swing caused him to land facedown, kersplat, on the carriage floor. I hate to say 'I told you so', but Cat and I had forseen this outcome, and I'm fairly certain I'd heard his mother tell him several times to stop. The resultant screaming lasted several minutes and could even be heard after he'd been removed from the carriage. Sadly, he returned sometime later with a cold cloth and a bag of ice over his face. Unfortunately there was no chloroform on the cloth.
 
I do feel terrible, but it was the most perfect example of karma in action I have ever witnessed. It is particularly amusing for us as yesterday we did a trip from Sydney to Coffs Harbour (which is 9 hours on a train) with a screaming toddler. It wasn't the toddler's fault in fairness, that the parents had brought her absolutely nothing to do, and kept trying to go to sleep. The baby didn't want to sleep, and kept crying cos she was bored. So they'd hit her, which made her scream the carriage down. When the girl's sister/aunt (not sure which) actually picked her up and pointed out the window, she shut up and behaved. Fancy that! Anyway, as we sat down today for a 4 1/2 hour journey and were greeted by this whiney little so and so, we were not impressed. Moving is not an option, as the seat numbers are reserved, and the guy has a list of your names to ensure you sit in them. Mum had very little interest in disciplining him, so Loz turned to me and said, 'Don't worry, he'll knock himself out in a minute!' Cue karma! Hillarious, unless you're in teaching, so I didn't find it at all funny. I suspect the guy behind us wasn't in teaching, as he was sniggering away to himself.
 
Cat's just gone to get some tea. She wanted to swing down the train, but now she's seen what can happen, I think she's going to walk. Very sensible.