I told you so

We had a van with a crew of telephone engineers that were coming to do some work on a mobile mast on our land. I told them that they wouldn't be able to get their van all the way to the mast as it was too muddy. They didn't believe me and several hours later at the end of the day they got the van stuck. Pulled them out with the tractor - with great satisfaction I said "told you so"

I never got to say it but I observed it. I was involved in appointing a new headteacher at my children's school, along with all the usual officials. I was representing the parents on the governing body. We advertised the job, short-listed candidates very thoroughly and interviewed them. One person stood out head and shoulders above the rest and, in my view, we should have appointed her. Unfortunately the head who was leaving had been unpopular and several of the interview panel thought this new candidate was too like 'leaver' and didn't think this would be a good thing. I understood their concern even though I thought it was misplaced. The candidate everyone else preferred was a teacher already at the school. He was a wonderful class teacher whom the kids loved and he had been acting deputy head for a year. He was still relatively young to be an HT in a biggish primary school. I argued that in spite of his manifest good qualities I did not think he was yet ready to take on this head-ship. I argued alone. In the end I agreed to hush my objections and he was appointed. It was a disaster. The school went down hill very steeply over the next two or three years and eventually it was so bad that he was offered another post somewhere far away in a small school. I still feel regret for that other candidate who should have been given the job in the first place.

Several years ago I had a small but dependable car. During a journey, I heard an enormous clunk. I stopped the car and could see nothing in the road. Drove home gingerly. Car taken to local garage and put on a ramp etc. Informed that I must have imagined the clunk. Next time I needed to drive, I asked my husband to accompany me, as I felt nervous. Drove down a steep hill, approached a bend at foot of hill...enormous clunk and brakes failed. Same garage came out to recover and remove car. Chap who thought that I had imagined that something was amiss, shrugged his shoulders. I said..."I told you so..."

We live on a road which leads down a hill and then round a bend, to the sea. It's a dead end. At the top of the road is a large sign which says 'Not Suitable for Buses' as there isn't sufficient turning space for long vehicles. I waved the coach driver down and pointed out the sign and told him 'it means what it says' but he chose to ignore. Oh dear - what a shame, some 3/4 of an hour later he was still trying to reverse round the bend and up the hill. Difficult to conceal my smugness as I mouthed 'I told you so' at him

Gally

I managed to machine my left index finger (sewing myself a maternity dress when suddenly nothing else fitted.) The needle stabbed my finger and broke, leaving me with just a bit of cotton sticking out. Strangely, it did not hurt - shock I suppose.

I told the young doctor in emergency that the needle point was visible on the other side and could be pushed up from below, but he knew best and tried to grip it from above - having first pulled on the cotton, which came out very painfully. All his prodding was to no avail, except to hurt more than the original damage. Eventually he pushed on the point end - a bit of needle emerged at the top, which he could grip and pull out.

I told you so.

That dress never got finished. I'd gone right off it.

Ouch, elegran! I've done that a couple of times but fortunately the needle didn't break so I was able to remove it while still attached to the sewing machine. It doesn't hurt at the time, as you say, but boy is it sore later!

Elegran I winced when I read your post. I knelt on a tin-tack once. It buried itself well into my knee-cap. It hurt like wotsit...

Perhaps there's a reason why we grandparents can relate so many "I told you so" moments.
I received a Father's Day card from one of my sons. It read:-
"The older I get the smarter my father seems to get."

BikerDave - a compliment to be sure...

Baggy and Supernana- I suspect it would have been OK if I had kept still! As it was I had three little holes - and I was kebabbed.

The brain goes into "automatic cope mode". I asked Dno2 (age 3) to hand me the phone and rang DH to come home from work - very calmly, as though I was asking him to pick up some bread on his way home. Then I realised that I might faint or something before he got home so sent Dno1 (age 4 1/2) for a neighbour I knew would be in.

Finally I reversed the machine handle (old Singer) and had just removed what was left of the needle when my neighbour arrived, more anxious than I was. I even had the presence of mind to take two broken bits of needle with me to hospital, plus a matching whole one so that they could see how long the bit still in my finger was.

Ouch!

Hello Elegran I had an incident similar to yours When I was at school.
in sewing class I was using the machine my hand slipped the needle went right through my index finger and broke off. I stood up at went over to the teacher to show her what had happened. She promptly fainted, another pupil had to go and get another member of staff. They came in and saw to Miss that who was laid out. I was still sitting on a chair needle still in finger.

The up-shot was when the teacher came round she said that she had tripped and not fainted at all but the class all said in unison "you did faint Miss, you were out cold".

An hour later I was sent to the hospital to get the needle removed.

I'm glad we haven't lived up to the image of us telling our sons and daughters the best way to bring up baby. I wonder how many of us have said "I think you should bring his coat", "You could try the dummy to get him to sleep", "She's probably tired even though she has been awake for only an hour"...
and then of course we're proved right. Would we say "I told you so"? of course not!

I love this thread! I think my favourite is pompa's cos how many times haev we all told someone coming into a situation something that you know because you live there etc..and then trying to tell a doctor how to get out the needle. Lovely.

Do doctors take a class is 'not listening'. Or not reading notes.....I was once in a hospital for a procedure and they took a urine sample and the consultant was waiting for the result before he could begin the procedure so I asked him why he was waiting. 'In case you are pregnant' he said. Ladies I was fully 55 and it stated clearly on my notes that I had had a hysterectomy a few years before. It didn't give me a lot of faith in what I was about to have.

A few months ago, my 14yr-old GD decided to dye her hair. I tried to talk her out of black but was over-ruled as it was 'only' a semi-permanent. She subsequently dyed it at least another 4/5 times. They tried stripping the dye at home as it was far too dark and the condition was suffering. Eventually she admitted defeat and went to the hairdresser who did her best, evened out the colour but couldn't lighten it by very much. She'll have to return over the next few months for 'maintenance' and it's costing a fortune!. However I have not uttered those awful words!!

My most smug moment was so sad that there was really no smugness.

I was a governor with responsibility for special needs education. At an open evening some parents tackled me very loudly and pompously saying that we should not have "these children" in our school and were surprised that I was allowing my children to mix with "them". They removed their children, sending them to another nearby school, that he believed "didn't encourage kids of that sort".
One parent was then convicted of a crime that I don't want to name just in case of identification.
The family then moved away so I don't know the outcome, I just hope that the children ended up supported, encouraged & happy.