adventure

my dad and i had a little adventure at the grocery store yesterday. we were in a bit of a rush because family were coming over pretty soon for family dinner, and we were picking up last minute ingredients. so we were in the bulk food section, and i was digging out some jujubes (very important ingredient to family dinner) while dad looked for the other ingredients. He found it and turned around to tell me, and hit his head on the mirrored wall that signified the end of bulk food.

By the time i got over to him there was blood dripping from a 15mm gash in his eyebrow and pooling in his eye. he said "where am i bleeding?"

i whipped a kleenex out of my pocket, shoved it on the spot and said "keep it there, we are going home." "is it still bleeding? =drip=" "YES! keep that kleenex there!" "but we can't go home, mom needs these groceries" "i will drive you home and come back" "oh, ok."

meanwhile, the wad of kleenex is almost soaked through, and we were passing the pharmacy section, so i dragged him up to the pharmacist "can i get a bandaid or something? my dad hit his head on one of the store displays." horrified pharmacist seems to spring into action,
she gets her boss to come over with a paper towel and say "are you dizzy? make yourself comfortable, we have to call the management if have injured yourself in the store." the gentleman sitting in the pharmacy chair waiting for his wife to stop shopping takes one horrified look at all the blood and vacates the chair for my dad. with dad installed, and bleeding much less profusely, i go off and finish the grocery shopping.

when i get back, the store manager is almost through with his incident report, and the pharmacist has finally given my dad a bandaid, so we are on our way. dad gets his winter coat dry cleaned for free now.

on the drive home dad says "that was really neat, how you reacted back there." "how was that?" "oh, all calm and businesslike, you didn't flap around and freak out." "well what purpose would that have served?" "none, i think it was neat."

so on the one hand, i am pleased that my father recognized my calm in a crisis, and congratulated me on it.

on the other, i am horrified that he actually expected me to flap around and freak out. does he actually think i am that much of a twit that it surprises him when i act in a logical rational manner?