We met Auntie Ang and Cousin Marlee at the park this week. This is a park that I don’t normally take the babies to by myself because it is too big with too many hiding spots and dangerous stairs. Usually the babies are pretty good at staying close to me. Not this time. Heaten wanted nothing to do with me so I spent most of the morning looking around frantically making sure I could still see him while he wandered further and further away. Ang commented that she can’t wait for the time she can go to the park and just sit while Marlee plays. Right now she is right there with me, chasing toddlers about hoping they don’t hurt themselves.

I also look forward to the time we can go to the park and they will just run and play and I don’t have to be right there every second. The only problem with this is most of those mothers really annoy the living crap out of me. They take their kids to the park and just let them run wild without watching them at all. We go to the park a lot and every time we go I see kids whose parents are nowhere to be found. The kids are running around pushing the little kids down the slides and out of the way, stepping on their fingers as the little ones climb up the stairs, climbing over them or running past and bumping them to the ground. I know I’m a bit over protective, but come on! Most times the Mom’s are sitting on the bench chatting on their cells or texting with no worries to what their kids are doing. I really try to be nice and tell the older kids to take turns or be gentle and I’ve gotten more than one Mom give me the evil eye for daring to tell her kid anything.

We met a couple of kids last summer - Little J and Big J who are six and eight. The babies love J and J so when we saw them again recently Heaten clapped and ran over to little J. These little boys would be at the park from sun up until dinner time. Let me just say that is 115 in the summer here and they were there ALL DAY LONG. They are really good boys and love to help with the kids, but I always wondered where their Mother was. I found my answer. She sits in the car in the parking lot all day while the kids play. While I’m glad the boys get a chance to run around and play I find it strange that in the MANY MANY times I’ve seen them she has not once got out of the car to check on them.

I am fairly certain I will never become one of those Moms, I can’t be as certain that I won’t tell one of those Moms where to go when their bigger, bully kids hurt Shenzie or Heaten.