This is why I come back to check on the comments. MAN! Who would have thought that comments on a lovely video of a man and his daughter would have devolved into a carseat debate!

When Matt wrote the disclaimer, “and i don’t want any comments about the cab-ride portion of the video. seriously,” I understood him.

I got that he meant he wasn’t a 100% perfect father who kept his daughter 100% safe. There was a margin for error. How much? Depends who you talk to. The family in Bangalore would have been mightily impressed; Eric…not so much.

I guess, in the struggle to do your best (as most of us are attempting) we can’t always handle someone thumping us over the head with a better way.

It’s like the parable of a drowing man who gets help from a friend on the shore in the form of a lecture. “You shouldn’t have swam out so far!” He yells.

The man, about to go under, pleads, “Can you pull me out first and talk to me later?”

The cool thing about Matt is that he actually knows when he can’t handle the well-meaning lecture and tells us beforehand. I thought that would stem the tide, but it didn’t. It actually isn’t respectful to ignore his pleas on his site. While I’ve tried to understand posters in the past who wanted to reach out with words, I’m not as understanding of this time.

I have put babies in slings and ridden in cabs. Everyday? No. Hardly ever. I am a crazed car-seat mama who tightens that seatbelt like my kid’s life depended on it…because it did and does. But, hey! I had to deal with the situation as it was and not as I wished it to be.

It’s good to remember this Arabic caution: Take care of the plank in your own eye before you complain about the splinter in mine.

I see the love in your eyes for your little girl, and it makes me smile. Madeline is a lucky girl to have all that she does. I visit the website often and it’s great to see how big she is getting, and all the new things she is doing.

You’re doing an amazing job!

All the best to you and your beautiful bundle of joy!