A Baby Without A Country

Off to the football game we went:  Me, my hubby, Becky, Nick and Paisley Grace! I was so excited - this was a monumental occasion for our family.  Paisley Grace is a 3rd generation FSU Seminole and this was her initiation to the football stadium where our beloved Seminoles play.  We have so many wonderful memories here.  And to make it even better - we had been invited to sit in a corporate sky box.

And this is where the story goes wrong, so wrong.  If you know me, you know I am a former teacher and a champion of "the rules".  After my husband got the tickets for the sky box, I had him call the corporation to find out what protoccol was concerning bringing a baby to the sky box.  "No problem," he was told.  "Babies are welcome in the sky box."  When he brought the tickets home, I noticed a statement that said,  "Everyone, regardless of age, must have a ticket."  That's pretty clear, but to be sure, I called the FSU ticket office to find out if Paisley Grace needed her own ticket.  "Yes," I was told, "even a 2 month old baby had to have a ticket, but sky boxes were under the purview of the FSU Boosters.  I call the Boosters and am told, "No, the baby does not need a ticket for the sky box.  The baby was welcome and we could also bring the stroller to the sky box.  My homework done, we set out to have a day we would all remember.

Well, we'll remember it all right.  We get to the corporate sky box, get settled in, and discover our 4 sky box tickets are not in the corp. sky box - although we are told we are welcome to stay there.  Our sky box tickets are in the Booster Sky Box up on the 8th floor.  So we pack up baby, diaper bags, stroller, camera, sweaters, caps, beers, and head up stairs.

Ahhh . . here we are - we've finally reached our destination.  We ask a hostess where we are supposed to sit.  She takes one look at the baby and calls the manager -- because no one under 21 yrs. is allowed in the booster sky box.  REALLY!  It's not like Paisley Grace, at 2months, is going to belly up to the bar and order,  "One breast milk, straight up, in a bottle.  Oh, and could you top that off with a nipple?"  Or maybe they're concerned we'd slip a little "Jack" in her bottle, and when she got drunk and fell out of her stroller, the stadium would be liable.  Seriously, what happened to common sense?

So,  faced with the fidgety hostess, the manager, and a security guy with a gun, we surrender, pack up again, and go back down to the corporate sky box, where we finally figure out why the corp folks had placed us in the booster sky box.  Instead of using the sky box to entertain clients, one high placed employee was using it for a family birthday party.  The five us were the only folks "not family" in the sky box.  But, I'm not finished yet.  One couple attending the family celebration had an 18 month old they were not allowed to bring because babies weren't allowed in the sky box.  And there we sat with baby Paisley Grace.  AWKWARD!!!!

Soooo.  We pack up again and wander the hallways, where people told us we had the most beautiful baby they had ever seen.   By this time Paisley Grace has a dirty diaper (by my way of thinking there was lots of "poop" going on in the sky boxes) and we change  her on the floor because the sky boxes - for all the money they put in them - have no changing tables.

So,the five of us: me, Patrick, Becky, Nick, and Paisley Grace kept trying to find a place we belonged. I missed a lot of the game trying not to offend people with a baby!!!!! I know, I know, I'm grateful to have been in not one, but 2 sky boxes. But geesh .... can't we take a baby anywhere???????

Becoming a grandparent has totally opened my eyes to how unfriendly our world is to babies and children.  I want this to change!  I would love to encounter people who smile instead of frown when they see me coming with Paisley Grace.  That is FREE - it costs nothing.  From there we could have changing tables in every building.  Is that too much to ask????

Would love to hear your stories and comments on the "not-so-baby-friendly" world we live in.  And remember:  DONT BLINK OR PAISLEY GRACE WILL BE GROWN!