The Sculpture Garden Fountain

The best place to hang out with kids in the summer in D.C. are the fountains.

There are a lot of parenting styles, I'm the kind of mom who likes to let her chill'ns run wild in public places. Mine are the good sort, so I can trust them not to spit at strangers, or run head first into danger, or wander too far. Yep, in general my kids listen to me. Although, Luke is still a wild card. Anyhow the fountain is pretty relaxing for me. It's fun to sit back and watch them explore and make friends.


One day there was a little boy around Luke's age visited the fountain too. Let's call him Sam. Luke offered Sam some snack and tagged along after Sam a bit. Sam's mom is the sort who hovers, which is fine with me. Eventually Sam started beating up on Luke, not super aggressively. Since I'm a seasoned parent (read: I never make mistakes), I didn't rush in to save him. I just waited to see what Luke would do. As expected Luke didn't do anything.


When I figured he'd had enough I swooped in to gather him up. Since telling Sam to stop hitting wasn't doing the trick. Anyhow that little boy, Sam, was a clever rascal. He saw me coming and right 'way changed tactics. He gave Luke a hug. And another hug. oh, how cute right? Wrong. He gave Luke one more hug and kissed him at the same time. Only it wasn't a kiss. Sam bit Luke while holding him in a death grip. The moment seemed to stretch, and I couldn't do anything to pull them apart without hurting Luke more. So I just watched. Luke screamed that horrible scream he has when he's dying. The other mother started swearing. And then I started laughing hysterically because it was so absolutely terrible.


I saw the blood after Luke calmed down, which didn't take long considering his trauma. There was a little spot on my shirt and I thought "noh, that can't be blood". Only it was and a whole slew of terrible scenarios swept through my mind. Each one ending on the miserable note: "My poor sweet little boy, he had such promise."
oh, well. Luke came through that scrape without lock-jaw. I think he's even forgot there are people out there who bite, and I'm greatful for that.