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March 10, 2005
a moral dilemma
You're sitting on your bed, laptop in your lap, writing.
The baby, who is also on the bed, crawls over and begins to climb onto your lap.
You attempt to stave him off for 15 more seconds, so you can finish typing your sentence.
Suddenly, the barometric pressure drops, the wind changes; the baby AND the laptop begin to slip off your lap off the side of the bed and toward the floor...
You cannot save both. Which do you reach for?
Updated to include
The bed is standard height, about 30 inches from the floor.
The floors are hard wood.
The baby is rolling in a kind of sideways fashion, but mostly head first.
I do NOT have Applecare on the laptop (I know I KNOW!).
Posted by mryonker at March 10, 2005 07:49 AM
Comments
Is the baby sliding head first or butt first? Don't babies bounce?
Posted by: Laura at March 10, 2005 09:03 AM
LOL! The question would be, how far is the bed from the floor? If the bed is high up, the choice would be difficult, but if it's low, grab the laptop!
Posted by: Mary Ann Steinacker-Grimm at March 10, 2005 09:11 AM
Is the laptop enrolled in Applecare? If so, grab that kid.
Posted by: jenwingard at March 10, 2005 09:14 AM
Is the floor carpeted? If so, SAVE YOURSELF!!!
Posted by: collin at March 10, 2005 10:12 AM
The baby can heal itself, the laptop cannot. Choice made
Posted by: feynman at March 10, 2005 01:06 PM
Oh, please, people. The laptop can be replaced, the baby cannot. The laptop is of finite value, the baby is not. You can like your laptop, but you love the baby. There's no debate here.
Posted by: susansinclair at March 10, 2005 02:19 PM
I recently had a vaguely similar experience (as similar as a childless person can have, anyway):
1. You are bedridden and recovering from painful surgery. Your laptop is your primary source of entertainment.
2. The carpeted floor has not been vacuumed in the several weeks you've been off your feet.
3. You lean too far over the side of the bed while opening a bottle of painkillers.
4. The laptop starts to slide toward the floor. The bottle of Darvocet also slides, threatening to dump all the pills on the dirty floor.
Which do you grab?
Posted by: Krista at March 10, 2005 02:51 PM
I KNOW this happened at least once!! I'm not sure which kid, or what the other precious thing was(it may even have been another kid!) I totally grabbed one in each hand, moved into the slid my own self, and landed butt first on the floor. All three involved sustained minor discomfort, but none more than my butt.
Posted by: bbmom at March 10, 2005 06:22 PM
Laptop. All kids fall off the bed at some point. Falling will make the baby cry, but it won't break it.
Of course, that's the rational decision. In the actual moment, I imagine one would grab the baby. Not sure, though.
Anyway, you have two arms.
Posted by: bitchphd at March 10, 2005 07:23 PM
You know you're compelled to tell us the rest of the story, right?
Posted by: Suzanne at March 11, 2005 11:53 AM