Mother of the Year Award

Even the most well mannered modern mother can't, on occasion, help but notice a nearby contestant for the coveted Mother of the Year Award.  She is often to be observed in high-end coffee shops, parks and organic food stores.  How, you may ask, does one identify a contender?  She is typically a young(ish) mother with a single child between one and three-years-old.  The child will be doing age-appropriate things while the mother audibly makes remarks such as "Yes, that's right, those are police sirens darling, no, not Sirens like in the story of Odysseus we read yesterday..."  or "Remember when we were at the symphony last weekend and you just loved the piece by Rachmaninoff...?"   One supposes, the kindest thing the modern mother might do the next time this happens, is to wander over to the young mother and say something along the lines of, "Excuse me, but I couldn't help overhearing.  You sound like a wonderful mother.  You are doing a great thing exposing your adorable child to so much at this impressionable age.  Keep up the good work."  Handing out ribbons might be a bit over the top.