What is This World Coming To?

This is what I was asking myself this past weekend.

You see... Kim, Cathy(my new neighbor) and I took the kids, all 8 of them, to Stone Mountain. Kim and I have family passes and go fairly often. Anyway, we went. There was some kind of youth choir competition going on, which meant a lot of unsupervised kids running around. Mostly it wasn't a problem. But then in The Great Barn, a kid attraction, we all kept getting pummeled by balls. By other adults. There are a dozen signs telling you not to throw the balls. And the little kids weren't. It was the adults. One man was bullying kids and grown ups alike. And when asked to stop, threw balls right in your face. Stupid man! Once that group left, we all had much more fun.

But the most memorable part of the day was when I almost got arrested. It happened like this...

Towards the end of the day we took the kids to the Treehouse Challenge to play while we sat and talked. After about an hour, Kim and Cathy went shopping while I sat with the kids. I had taken Bren, Ellas, Gracie and Brody to the little wading stream. We were having fun walking around in the cool water and visiting with other people. Then this lady brings her boys over. I found out later that they were her grandsons. These boys were out of control. They were running, pushing, splashing and yelling. I kept looking over at the woman, who was watching them and doing nothing about it. One family just got their shoes on and left because the boys were taking all the fun out it for them.

After one of the boys almost knocked Brody down for the second time, I put my hand out, stopped him and told him to quit. That's when grandma decided to say something. To her grandson? Oh no. To me. She started yelling at me to not touch her grandson and that if I have a problem I need to tell her. I asked her why she hadn't done something about it herself, she was sitting there watching him be obnoxious. But all she kept doing was getting louder and more hateful. It became clear to me that she was one of those that cannot be reasoned with, so I apologized. I said, "I'm sorry that it upset you. Next time, I'll just leave." I apologized sincerely at least 10 more times but she would not even acknowledge my apologies. She went to the people running the attraction and reported me. The man told her there wasn't anything to be done.

Once she walked away, I got the kids shoes back on them and left. As we passed her at the entrance, she told the little boy that if he saw Gracie again she wanted him to hit her as hard as he could. Why? I have no earthly idea.

The kids were all whining about being hungry and thirsty so we went to the van. I got drinks and stuff out of the cooler for the kids and went to call Kim to tell her we were at the van when a policeman approached me. This crazy woman had called the cops and wanted me arrested for assaulting her grandson! Oh yes.

I was stunned and more than a little terrified. I told the policeman what had happened. He was very nice and reassuring. He listened to Brendan's side of it and then had us fill out statements. Kim and Cathy got there and were appalled. Cathy suggested to the policeman that pictures needed to be taken of the boy. The policeman told us that this woman was screaming and ranting. Her grandsons were climbing the fences and tearing things up while she was yelling at the police. And when he radioed the other policeman to tell him to take a picture of the boy, the woman couldn't even find him. There I had been with 8 kids, all quiet and obedient and she couldn't even control 2.

Finally, they convinced her that she had no valid complaint and she was making a fool of herself. She found her grandsons and left. It was the most insane thing that has ever happened to me. For as long as I live, I'll never forget her insane babbling or hateful spewings. Or the police coming to my van. Or the fear in the kids eyes. It was scary. I remember telling Maggie that we had to trust God to be our defender and protector. We prayed and waited for God to reveal the truth. Which he did.

What is this world coming to when adults teach children to disregard the feelings of others or even do violence to them? There was so little respect for one another that day. But then the next day was quiet and fun. The manager who had tried to help me and the police greeted us at the gate and wished us a better day. People were helpful and friendly. It was completely different.

So that was my weekend. Good, bad and ugly.