A little getaway that ended on a sour note
Today, Sunday, I woke up and decided that a day out shopping, by myself, for nothing in particular is exactly what I need. We had no plans, and I have been feeling a bit stir crazy, so I thought I day wandering at our local outlet mall would be a bit therapeutic.
And it was, at first.
I browsed a bunch of stores and got some great deals on stuff I never even knew I needed! Seriously though, they were incredible deals - $40 sweaters from American Eagle for $11! Old Navy jeans for Christina for $4.99! Carter's pj's for $4.50! Adorable Gymboree shirts for $5!
I even treated myself to a little coffee drink and just sat there and people watched.
I pondered the never-ended question of why here, in the middle of absolute rural USA, can there be SO many foreigners speaking all sorts of different languages??? I honestly don't care that they are there, but I just want to know from where they came. It has to be from quite a distance.
I chuckled at a couple who were lovingly holding hands as they decided which food court selection to pick. Yeah, I looked, no rings on any fingers. Ahhh...I miss falling in love.
And I laughed hysterically at the young girl with the jeans SOOO low that she was sharing MUCH more information that any of us wanted.
So entertaining.
I then browsed a few more stores and decided I spent enough money, I will make the trek on home. As I walked down the sidewalk I heard a child just screaming and crying. Ahead of me, a dad (I think) was trying to get his 2 or 3 year old to sit in the stroller. She was hysterical. And what did said "Dad" do? Well, beat the CRAP out of the little girl. I was literally sick. The poor little girl was just crying "I want Mama" over and over and he continued to yell at her and smack her. Yeah, THAT solved his problem. Jerk.
I know there may be more to that story, but I also know that it was DAMN cold. And what toddler LIKES shopping at outlet malls anyway? Not many, especially in winter.
I didn't know what to do. I felt like I should do something, but instead walked back to my car in tears. What can you do in such a situation? I know most people just act that they didn't see anything and walk away. But is that the right thing? I don't know. All I know is that I keep thinking about that poor little girl.
Anyway, I was a bit bummed that my day "off" ended on such a note. But it was still nice to get away. I definitely need a bit of time away once in a while to really appreciate my own crazy crew.
12 visitors to our world:
Oh that's rough. What a rotten way to end a nice day out. I'm lucky that I've rarely seen that happen -- only one or two times that I can think of even. And the second time, I actually stopped to talk to the person and told them that it looked like they were having a rough day and asked if they needed any help. I knew it could go any number of ways, but ... I hated the thought of just walking away and feeling powerless. They were really embarrassed and stopped and just quickly went away. But at least they stopped. For the time being. Eesh.
It's a tough situation. I know it's easy to say "I would have done something" but when faced with it, it's not always that easy. I'm sorry you had to see it on your day out. I hope it won't ruin your night. At least you have 3 beautiful girls to go home and hug.
We all have difficult days. I know it's not an excuse, but hopefully this was an exception, not the rule for this dad.
I'm glad that you had three beautiful girls to go home to.
I don't know what I would have done. Probably the same thing:( That's just awful
It's a tough call as to what to do in a situation like that. You can't exactly intervene, because you might get hurt yourself, or cause more serious repercussions for the child later on when no one's looking. I don't know... call the police? It would probably be over by the time they arrived. How sad.
oh man....NOTHING ruins my day like that. Even without the hitting, the yelling makes me cry. I just did last week in K-mart.
sigh....If it was actual hitting, and/or really harsh I would have to call the police, as I am a mandatory reporter...but that being said, I haven't had to report yet.
regardless....it really hurts my heart.
hugs!
Geez, that's tough, Irene. Knowing me, I probably would have called 911 thinking he was abducting here because I had a friend kidnapped and murdered when I was in 2nd grade...so, I'm a bit overly suspicious. It's sad that so many of these things happen all over our world and there isn't anything we really can do. Except pray, I guess. Sad to think of little ones having to suffer in the hands of their parents!
Blargh. I think I might have called the police, but who knows. I hate seeing the ugly side of people.
I'm sorry that Dad ruined your nice day. Like someone said above, I hope the Dad's behaviour was the exception not the rule. I probably would have done the same thing and just walked away because I'm terrified of violent and unpredictible people, but I think things are easier to do if we have a plan before we're in the moment.
I learned in self-defence classes that you have to decide what you are (and aren't) willing to do to protect yourself BEFORE the moment is upon you. (ie am I willing to kill an assailant if I need to in order to save myself?) If you haven't made up your mind about this before the assault happens, then you certainly won't be able to make up your mind in the heat of the moment.
I think the same thing applies in the situation with the Dad. Making up your mind NOW about how you would handle it will give you the power to act in the future. I especially think the suggestion to offer to help is a good one. Instead of putting the Dad on the defence, it would be good to say, "it looks like you're having a challenge here... is there something I can do to help? Carry your kid? Carry a bag? Push the stroller?" I'm not sure I would have the nerve to do it, but I also hate the idea of doing nothing when a child needs help. At least I'll give it some thought and decide NOW exactly what I would do in the future if faced with that situation and then I might not feel so helpless.
Anyway... gosh... sorry for the ramble, but this post really made me think!!
Ooops. I think it's self-defense, not self-defence.
WOW!!!!
LOVIN THE PIC!!!!!!!!!!
I have never seen anything like this- yelling, yes, but never hitting. So heart breaking.
I am not sure what I would have done, but you have definitly gotten me thinking about what I would want to do if I ever am in this situation.
Ugh. I just hate when I see things like that. There is never a good reason to hit your child. Never. Especially when they are obviously, like you said, bored, cold, and probably just not wanting to be strapped into a stroller.
It's hard. I always want to say something, but never know what to say. If you ever figure out what to do in that kind of situation, let me know. I feel like I see it far too often.
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