This is probably going to make my sister have a stroke. No kidding, she will read this and then she will call me up yelling and cussing and demanding to know if I kicked some ass. Sister, this was an awful moment and I wasn't able to allow myself to get a full on righteous anger so you go right ahead, and then we will decide what to do next time (though I hope with all of my heart there is no next time).
We were at the park on Friday. It was a very nice, cool day and as we drove through the Little Italy that Cleveland is lucky to have, we couldn't resist stopping. We ate and then decided to walk down to the little park they have on a corner there. The sun was shining, planes were flying overhead, trains were chugging by on the nearby tracks, kids were laughing, it was so much fun.
Then, That Kid arrived. You know the one, loud and obnoxious, the one with no apparent parental unit. These kids always find me I swear. I was trying to take a picture of Liam and this boy, he was about 6, came up and tried to take my camera, then he decided that I should take pictures of him ( I politely refused). I put my camera away and I was trying to talk and play with Liam and pretend this kid wasn't there, he wandered off after a bit.
He came back about 5 minutes later. He stood there yammering and talking and I was just trying to watch Liam playing. Liam had his back to me and he was tracing the alphabet on this metal side to the play structure.
This kid walked up to Liam, stared directly at him for about a minute and then took his hand and touched Liam's face. I was sitting so the sun was in my eyes and Liam had his back to me and I didn't quite know what was happening other than this kid touching Liam. I instinctively reached out and gently but firmly grabbed this kids arm , moved it away and said, "Hey! there is no need for you to be touching my baby! Now you can leave."
As I was saying this and this brat was walking away, I realized that he had been grinding his finger on Liam's nose, the left side of his nose, his beautiful nose. This kid's expression was not innocent or curious, he looked like mean kids look when they pick on someone or when they smash bugs. This kid was a real piece of work.
So there it was. Our very first negative encounter concerning Liam's cleft, it's his left side that is affected, so he has that cute slope to his nose on that side, this is what that kid was pushing on. Call me crazy but I thought we would have issues mostly with adults. Silly me.
I wish I would have been more on the ball and realized what was happening. I would have used a bit more oomph in my voice, I would have told Les about it right away, I would have done MORE for my kid.
Well, you can believe that I will be a bit more Mama Bear-ish from here on out.
3 comments:
e has had issues like this, though rare. i always take the opportunity if i can to teach and not get agitated or upset (even though i feel that way inside). i guess i just want her to see there is a polite way to handle ignorance, and certainly a young kid (even with ill intent) doesn't fully understand what he's doing. my nephews are like this sometimes, which is sad. but they are boys and they are all hyper and going through that typical "mean" phase. protecting your child is paramount, but showing him you can be cool under this kind of "assault" is the principal thing. i might have turned to him and said, 'would you like it if someone you didn't know came along and started touching you and pushing on your nose?" and then picked up my kid and walked away.
ok.. I was soo ready to go off and I would have called you when I read this.. but it was 8am and I know better. Thank you Kitchu for making me see the bigger picture and I will try to remain calm if I ever witness such sh*t. However.. I'm lucky enough to be the aunt and I would have totally lost my cool.. and I might have actually smooshed(and not gently) the little brats nose (maybe entire face) and asked him how he liked it.. which would have ended with me acting a fool at the playground. So maybe I will try to stay cool if I ever see that crap! I'm pretty protective over my Dillons tho so no promises. Just good intentions! And Sister.. if u ever see that a**hole again.. sick Evelyn on him.. she'll get the job done!
Oh boy. At first I wanted to kick that little brat's ass. But then I read K's logical and much more civilized response. It made sense. Still sorry mama and Liam had to deal with it.
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