I was on a nature walk last week when I heard a little boy's voice, loud and clear, "Why you gotta be so mean??"
That caught my attention.
Just a second ago he was running, holding a stick and shouting with glee.
I glanced quickly at the family as I walked by.
The little boy was maybe 4 or 5, full of that wild boy energy that fills up all the space around him. His mom stood there, face tight, and then I heard her sharply instruct him, "Get back in the stroller. Now."
He obliged.
The grandma chimed in, with a shocked tone, "Well, he told me he was gonna kill me."
The boy started to explain himself, but his mom cut him off to yell at grandma, "You’re not helping!! What do you want me to do? What am I supposed to do? Don't you think I'm trying to figure this out? Don’t you think I’m trying to deal with this and figure out why he behaves this way???"
The boy, caught in the middle of it all, echoed his mom's desperation, “Yes, Gigi. Help her.”
I kept walking, but I could still hear her.
"I don't want people calling the cops." The grandma, quieter now, "Calm down. Nobody's gonna call the cops."
The mom again a bit later, "I don't wanna be here! We're too far to turn around, we just have to finish." to which the grandma shouted back, “Then go!!! Leave!!!”
“I’m not going to leave you here!”
That’s when they started walking super fast, passing me up.
I kept walking, stunned by what I had just observed.
