My Toddler and I were Asked to Leave

...and what I wish I said in response

During my husband’s law school graduation, a woman approached me and my magnificent toddler and said: “Can you quiet her down? She’s ruining it for every one.”

We were seated in a college gymnasium equipped with a giant sound system with a large drop down screen so all the families in attendance could see and hear. My daughter and I were offered a seat by a sweet stranger, a grandma who smiled lovingly at the two of us. My daughter sat with her Piglet plushie and a coloring book while the dean kicked things off with the obligatory land acknowledgment.

There were, of course, dozens of other small children around. Some babies snoozed in a stroller other toddlers were entranced by their parents phone screen, and one toddler, mine was coloring while slightly babbling.

“Oooo where’s piglet?” she asked in a normal speaking volume. I’d whisper back, “let’s try to talk softly so we don’t scare Piglet”.

No one near us seemed to mind . A few times she asked at a little louder but then went back to coloring. A family about 30 feet ahead of us kept whipping their heads around every time my daughter would make any noise. I ignored it.

Then they tried to catch my eye and when they finally did they gave me the furrowed shush with this sort of vibe: