Parenting (and apprently not doing it right)

I went to the library off post today to finally get a library card. The post library is okay, but is limited and hard to get stuff that isn't right there. ILL isn't something they do and that limits my reading pool.

I was standing at the counter doing the paperwork for the card. Charlie was standing pretty still next to me but Abby was about ten feet away, silently twirling in circles. No big deal and it wasn't hurting anyone. Well, one of the library workers comes up to me and says "Is that your little girl?" I said yes, assuming that she would say something about how cute she was or something along those lines like most people do. Oh, no though. It was "you really need to keep a better hold on her." I said "well, she isn't really hurting anything?" Apparently she was being super annoying though because the worker told me that she was "disturbing the other patrons." Seriously? She wasn't making noise and she wasn't hurting anyone. There was nothing wrong with what she was doing. I shrugged it off as a disgruntled employee. I got my card and we went to the children's section.

The kids played with the wooden puzzles in there for a bit and then I wanted to look at adult audio books. I asked the kids if they were ready to go and they skipped right along, as good as could be. Well, Abby sort of does this half-skip, half-run thing sometimes and she was ahead of me in the main aisle. No one around. But then ANOTHER library employee steps out of the stacks and says "She is running in here." I said, "no, not really. We are just going to the audio books." And the employee said "She isn't allowed to run in here. You need to slow her down."

SERIOUSLY, PEOPLE?! What do you want from me?? Would you rather me hold her and have her scream at the top of her lungs, or skip quietly through the stacks?! Seriously, I will let you pick and I don't think you will like what you get when you tell me to hold her and keep her right freaking next to me at all times!!

Did they never have children? Do they not realize that with kids, something has got to give? I am willing to sacrifice a little more rowdiness if it means she isn't screaming her head off in public.

This is what is frustrating to me as a parent. What am I supposed to do with my children when I want or need to go somewhere? Lock them up? Beat them senseless when they make a noise? Heaven forbid they skip around! I sometimes feel like I can't even leave my house without being criticized because my kids are being kids.

I freaking hate this.