Re: brutal honesty please

Toypup, I don't think you did anything wrong.  I was thinking the same
thing Banty said.... that if you had gone to the mom to ask her to get
the ring back from her child, she might have thought you were over-
fussy (like, just get your ring, lady!)... or she may have felt that
you were annoyed with her child or with her.  This is all just silly.
It's a lack of graciousness on the mom's part, and not a big deal.
You can't anticipate the reactions of people you don't know.  You
shared with people you didn't know, collected your belongings
politely, and got reprimanded by a stranger.  Don't stress about YOUR
behavior.  It doesn't feel nice to have another adult be irritated/
angry with you.  Most of the time, we associate with people who share
a certain code of politeness, and again: graciousness.  When a
conflict happens, that code calls for one to question oneself first.
But this is a case of a stranger not following the code.  Liken it to
a language barrier, say 'OK' and make your exit.  You did everything
right.
    I get your feelings, though.  It stinks to be reprimanded, whether
it's called for or not.  IN this case, NOT.  Shake it off!