Drama

n: a state, situation, or series of events involving interesting or intense conflict of forces

It was kind of dreary today, so I decided to take my children to our local mall. I had some Kohl’s cash to use and some soap to buy at Bath and Body Works, so we went for a drive. I told the kids that if they were good, we could go to the indoor play area before lunch.

Surprisingly, they both did well while I tried on clothes at Kohl’s and my son was a great helper at Bath and Body Works. So I kept my promise.

The indoor play area is actually really nice. It’s all enclosed and full of soft surfaces. Nice padded benches line the walls and the climbing structures are not very tall. I felt comfortable sitting down and letting my five- and almost two-year-old play independently.

Noah and Natalee (and the little blonde girl) at the indoor play area

The only other people in there were a grandmother and her dark-haired granddaughter, who kept mostly to themselves. As my kids began to play, I tried to keep my son Noah in line, telling him not to climb on top of the structures and to go up and down the slide the correct way.

Soon, another little blonde girl arrived with her grandfather and she began to use the same slide as my daughter Natalee. The girl tended to cut in front of Natalee, but neither of us really minded; Nat takes a long time to get up the slide some time and the girl was just impatient. Plus, she was super smiley.

About 20 minutes into our play time, a mom arrived with two boys, who were maybe four and one years old. The older one came in and instantly began to cry when his mom told him he had to leave his socks on. I could see that she was in no mood to deal with him and he opted to sit on the benches for a while. I could tell the mom already had her hands full with the younger one, who was adorable, but was also “full of piss and vinegar,” as my dad would say.

Natalee loves the slide!

Almost as soon as he left his mom’s arms, he made a beeline for my kids and started to hit. To her credit, the mom was right there and attempted to discipline him immediately; I got the impression that this was an ongoing issue for him. He made contact with both Noah and Natalee more than once, but Nat wasn’t fazed at all and Noah just made a comment about him “not being kind.” I agreed and we tried to avoid him as best we could.

Little did I know that this was just the beginning and the drama of the indoor play area was about to escalate. As all the children were attempting to avoid the hitter, the little blonde girl who was there with her grandfather began playing with the dark-haired girl who was there with her grandmother. At some point, the blonde girl told the dark-haired girl to get off of a climbing structure.

The dark-haired girl’s grandmother did not take kindly to that.

“You don’t have to move,” she said to her granddaughter, loudly, so we all could hear it. “You don’t have to do what she tells you to do. She’s bossy. She’s just a little brat!”

Technically, grandma was right, the girl didn’t have to move. But I don’t think that attacking the other little girl and calling her a brat was the appropriate way to handle the situation.

The blonde girl’s grandfather called her over to him and he held her for a while, while also muttering under his breath and shooting dirty looks at the other grandmother. The tension was building and I was ready to leave.

As I tried to round up Noah and Nat, another mom came in with two little boys. One took off his socks and climbed right up on top of a climbing structure—both things that I and the other mom had previously scolded our own children about. The boys’ mom didn’t seem to have a problem with any of it and that was my cue to get out of there.

When I thought about being a stay-at-home mom, I thought about days like this, taking my children to playgrounds where they could play together and make friends. Perhaps, I thought, maybe I’d even make a new mom friend, too.

The little blonde waited somewhat impatiently for Nat to go down the slide

I didn’t realize that these experiences could be so dramatic. Between the hitting and yelling and the snide comments, but I was getting nervous and anxious. It honestly wouldn’t have surprised me if those two grandparents had started going after one another.

And what does that really accomplish? We’re probably all stressed out and tired, so our tempers might be simmering right under the surface. Today was definitely a lesson for me—no matter how irritated I get at other kids, or my own, I’m going to try not to become that grandmother.

Incidentally, my kids and I ended up riding in the elevator with the grandmother and her dark-haired girl. Even removed from the situation, she did not seem friendly and I was too scared to make eye contact. When the doors opened, we went our separate ways. For the sake of her granddaughter—and all of us—I really hope her day improved.