Captured Thought: Respecting Parents

Last night, I was eating dinner at The Cheesecake Factory with some friends. About halfway through our meal, a woman walked in with her son of about 10 years old, by the look of him. I continued talking with my friends and then suddenly I heard the boy saying "SHHH!" and fiddling with his iPod Touch. I heard his mom sharply whispering to him, "Do not shush me. I'm your mother. I was asking what you want to drink." Then the boy said, "Just ask me later!" (or something along those lines). The mom looked very distraught and of mixed emotions: She was angry with her son for talking back to her, she was hurt by the disrespect she was showing to her, and she was confused and frustrated about not being able to acceptably reprimand him in public. I know I have been disrespectful to my parents in public before, and I have seen it happening with other kids before, but seeing at this close proximity really hit me. Parents only want what is best for their children and hope to raise them with good manners. Seeing the iPod was another factor that added onto the discomfort of the situation. It represented a lot of things to me: The boy was more interested in the iPod than spending time with his mother, the boy was probably spoiled by his mother who is unsure of where to draw the line because she wants her son to be happy even though she probably knows she should say no sometimes, and kids growing up in this era are extremely electronically-materialistic (does that make sense?). I guess this isn't so much a captured thought as it is a captured experience, or emotion. Still though, it really shows me how important it is to be respectful to our parents and be grateful for everything they do for us and how hard they work.