Queen Mila

So, this happened.

The fact that I'm still thinking about it DAYS later probably says something.

I'm still thinking about it for three reasons:

1. This was hours after the El Paso shooting. HOW DOES SOMEONE LET THEIR KID WALK AROUND WITH A TOY GUN AFTER THAT? I am sincerely asking because I don't freakin' understand. The toy gun in question was inflatable and camouflage, so clearly a toy, BUT STILL. How do you see that innocent people lost their lives to an act of pure hatred and later let your kid carry around a reminder of that nightmare? It's not that hard to divert your kid to another prize. I know, I do it all the time. You don't even have to make a big deal out of it. Your kid picks up a super noisy toy? You grab another one and gush about how cool it is. They may not go after that cool toy, but it gets their attention so you can move away from the future headache.

2. The other mother's reaction to this scene speaks volumes about #1, I think. She was PISSED. And not at her kid. At Mila because she hurt her preshuuuussss boy's feelings. For what it's worth, the boy hit Mila on the back with that same toy gun three times before she turned around and glared at him then smacked it to the ground, and it was a gentle "smack to the ground." It was with the same amount of force that you would use to fix your own baseball cap if it had started to drift up her forehead. For what it's worth, the boy had also hit me with the gun (thus why I was paying ALL of my attention to the scene) and two other kids who were in line. Apparently the mom didn't see that he was LITERALLY HITTING MULTIPLE PEOPLE with his toy because she was stunned by the whole thing. And Mila shouldn't have touched his toy. Or something. I don't know because my eyes rolled out of my head when the other mom started to go off on Mila.

3. Mila. That kid. She is ... magnificent. Everything that makes her a challenge to parent makes her such a great person. She sets boundaries and protects those boundaries SO well, especially for someone as young as she is. She's not mean-spirited in her execution, either. She's just very matter-of-fact. Your gun is in my space and that's not okay, so put it down. Done.

I really want to be Mila when I grow up.

Comments

[Caroline]

Can’t believe the mom was mad at Mila (well I can but STILL). One of these days I am gonna get myself in trouble for using my teacher expectations (and voice) on a kid in public. And I hope it’s half as worth it, as Mila in this story.