This week I am sitting outside in a lovely park. Lots of families are roaming around the grass or sitting on benches. There are a few families that have caught my attention.
Sitting under a nice tree is a family of five. Most of them are dressed in some sort of denim so I am going to call them the Blue family. There is a dad with short, buzz-cut, hair, a mother who looks as if she is expecting another child, two little girls near each other in age, and a boy toddler who is much too interested in the taste of grass. The girls are playing a game of tag with their father and seem to have endless energy. The mother keeps tying to keep the little boy from sticking things in his mouth. She looks frustrated. After a bit the girls and their dad sit down next to the mother. The father pulls the boy into his lap. This seems to be an old game, because the boy starts to laugh and try to crawl away. he only gets so far before he is pulled back into a lap. Mother looks exhausted but happy with everything that is going on around them. The daughters are pointing at a jungle gym and run off to the structure. Everyone seems familiar with the pace of the day. I think that this is a regular weekend event for them.
Another family has caught my eye. A mother with a young daughter is setting on a park bench. Her hand and eyes are glued to the cell phone. Her daughter wanders freely from her texting mom and seems to have no supervision. She is wandering over to the jungle gym as well. Texting mom has yet to even look up from her phone. her daughter is sitting under a slide, making a sort of sand castle in the dirt. Occasionally she looks around but doesn't go to interact with the other kids nearby. Texting mom is now on the phone with someone. Whoever it is, she isn't happy with them. I can hear her yelling but cannot make out the words. The conversation doesn't last long. She goes back to texting without looking around for her daughter.
Across the way from my seat, another family is walking. Two men are swinging a little girl between them. One of the men is tall and willowy. The other is a bit stockier and has a large mustache. The little girl looks like she is about seven and she is all full of giggles. I am guessing that these men are her fathers. My thought is confirmed when they get near the swings and the happy girl pulls them over. They release hands. The men share a peck on the lips before the tall one leans down to push their little girl. She keeps laughing up a storm, the higher she goes. The mustached man goes to stand in front and holds his arms open. the happy little girl laughs some more and lets go of the swings. He catches her mid air and swings her around. The two men take her hands again and continue their walk.
The Blue family looks worn out at this point. The two daughters have drug themselves back to their parents and are sitting next to them. They all look to be in a good conversation. This family time seems to be important to them.
Texting mom has just realized that her daughter isn't there. She looks frustrated and angry. After looking a bit she sees her little girl and stomps over to her. She grabs her little girls hand and kind of yanks her along with her to the parking lot. The entire time she is yelling at her daughter. I can't help but feel a bit mad at the woman for this. I get the feeling that this isn't a very happy home. The little girl just kind of trails behind her mom and doesn't look up from the ground.
No comments:
Post a Comment