That crazy woman you saw?

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Yeah. That was me.  The one chasing down the street after a group of intermediate kids, calling one out, and telling him off?  me again.

I had been driving my kids home from school and I saw two boys fighting, or starting to fight by the side of the road so I tooted my horn at them and told them to cut it out. As I drove on I heard "mutter, mumble bitch"   

Um. Excuse me?!  What the fuck?

I wasn't wearing this dirty shirt.

Needless to say I pulled over as soon as was safe, turned car off. Darling Girl, bless her, said "yup. We'll stay here" as I leapt from the van and ran back around the corner.  

Now coz none of you were there, I should paint the pic for ya: I'm not tall. I'm not even average. My growth spurt in 6th form made me a whooping 5'1". I had grown 2/3 of an inch and was thrilled coz it tipped me over 5 feet. For definite.  *sigh*  good times.   So as I ran towards a group of intermediate kids, same age as Pandawan I'm aware that most of them are as tall as, if not taller than me.  I'm in barefeet. I must look barely old enough to be driving a car.  Yet here I go, calling out to this smartmouth kid.

Conversation went something like this.....
kid "it wasn't a real fight"
me "would your mother be ok with you using language like that?"
kid "yeah"
me "really?! your mum would be ok with you calling an adult a bitch?"
kid "yes." (looking a little sullen now)
Me " well, I pity you. that you aren't being taught to be nice to the people around you. that's all I was trying to say, be nice to the people around you"

He had started walking away now, so I left it.  It occurred to me when I got home that it was also dangerous to be even play fighting by the side of the road. Kid coulda fallen under the wheels of a car. Wouldn't have seemed like that much fun then huh?  Punkarse.


Now before you judge me a complete loony - and yes  I understand I come across that way. Captain pointed it out to me when I told him "you're gonna get shot one day" and that may well be the case. I have a reasonable history of yelling out the window (sometimes when it's open, more often when it's shut) at idiots who cross the road kinda in front of me on busy roads, when there is a pedestrian crossing in sight. Do they use the crossing? No. They run out in front of moving vehicles, playing dodgeballchicken. 


A little voice in my head screams that idiots like that should be left to be helped outta the gene pool.  

This is where you're supposed to cross roads. Asshat.

The nice part of me says that I should be helping them learn better. 


At least my kids have heard me yell about the safe way to cross roads often enough now, that they wouldn't dare be an asshat about it.  #Win


This comes from a story that a friend told me years ago that has stuck with me.  She told me about a day that she was driving home from picking up her kid from school (or to school? something) and she saw some neighbourhood kids playing in the gutter by the roadside. She stopped the car and told the kids that it wasn't a safe place to play.  I was surprised she had the guts to do this to kids she didn't know. She said, "well, we're a community. I would hope that if a neighbour saw my kid doing something unsafe like that, that they would correct her" 


So that's how I view the kids I drive past everyday.  Like they are kids I DO know, that I know their parents, and that the way they are misbehaving would be unacceptable at home. 


I do this in the hope that when MY kids are walking to school etc that strangers/neighbours would help them out, by correcting them when they are misbehaving.  


I talked with my kids about this this evening, coz Pandawan was embarrassed that I had got out of the car to talk to this kid. I asked him how he would feel if we were walking down the street and the situation ensued? Would he be ok about a kid talking to me like that?  Bless him he answered he would feel like punching the kid. :O)  I said "yeah, that's how I felt. But punching isn't an ok reaction. So that's why I spoke to him"  It's nice to know he would defend my honour (yeah yeah, I hear ya, what little I have left :OP)  I had a worrying couple seconds there when I thought he wouldn't.....


SO!!  People of my humble wee home town beware!  I am a crazy lady who takes it upon herself to correct misbehaviour.  I aim to do my best myself so that I'm not being hypocritical. I also am doing my damnest to raise my children with respect for others, some common decency and compassion.  I would appreciate it if you would make some effort to raise your kids the same.  This way the world will be a nice safe place for us to live in. Well, our wee corner should be.


If not, it may be your child I chastise in the street next time.   You have been warned.  :OD
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