An observation.

So I’m reading extensively about the ins and outs of counseling children and the involvement of parents in the process. Its what’s on my mind.

I’m sitting in a well-known java establishment when a mom and an… I’ll guess six-and-a-half-year-old walk over to where I’m sitting. The kid is adorable. He kinda looks like my brother when he was that age, except he had coke-bottle glasses and had thumbs-a-fury on a PSP. There was one empty comfy chair and one table available a few feet away. Mom looks tired and decides she needs to sit in the comfy chair and the kid just stands there. I’m trying not to glance too much, but he looks visibly uncomfortable. He’s paused his game and is worried that he doesn’t have a chair to sit in. “Mom. Where do I sit?” “Go sit at that table.” He looks over and sees that that is not a very great place to sit. “Can we go sit somewhere together? I don’t want to sit at that table.” Mom has now crossed her legs and is agitatedly bouncing her foot up and down, up and down, drinking whatever tall beverage she purchased. She ignores him. The kid just has his PSP. He reluctantly walks the couple tiles over to the tables and slouches into a wooden chair and resumes his game.

I look over at the kid, meaning nothing by my glance. Mom stares at me. I go back to reading and she pulls out a little transparent orange vial with a white lid and throws back a couple. Foot still bouncing furiously. Then quietly, from the table, “Mom. Can I sit with you?” She says nothing and he walks over and sits on the very edge of her chair next to her, with maybe half a cheek on the cushion. She gets up almost immediately and practically knocks him off. She growls softly, “I said, go SIT at that table.” He obediently and quickly darts back over to the chair and sits. Mom grabs her purse and puts it on the table and tells him, “Watch this. I left my phone in the car.” “Okay Mom. But can I come with you?” She walks off. He sits there playing his game, but constantly looking around for mom.

She comes back maybe eight minutes later with no phone in sight and another older kid. Where did he come from? “We’re leaving now. And no, you can’t have anything.” “But I didn’t…” “Shut up.”

The innocence and kindheartedness of some kids melt my heart. This kid was no exception. There was so much yearning in his eyes to simply be with his mom.

The ignorance of some parents makes my heart burn. I wanted to reach over and shake her and say, “LOOK. Not every kid wants to be with their parents. Your kid is DYING to be close to you. Take advantage of that!” But I didn’t. That would be weird. Also, I think there was a lot more going on than what met the eye. She was upset about something. Which sucks. I prayed a little for her. But I was still angry.

There is a story going on all around you. Everyone is fighting a hard battle that you can’t see. And though you can’t see it, sometimes it pisses you off. It pisses me off. But it makes me want to work harder at what I do.