People Like You, Madam...!

One morning, I led Woog into the compound of his school. As we walked past the preschool's administrative division, he broke into a smile and paused as if to chat. But he was running late and I urged him onward with a goodbye kiss (“Have a great day, Woog! 'Wuv-wuv! God bless!”)

Woog's first day of preschool at age 3

A lady in one of the desks asked: “He's in kindergarten now, isn't he?”

Ever the proud mommy, I nodded in the affirmative.

“Why did you send him to kindergarten for,“ she reproached me with a belittling smile, “he's too young and doesn't have enough sense.”

The grin curdled on my lips. Was I hearing correctly?

“Do you know,” she continued with a (fake?) chuckle , “no matter how late he is, he just has to stop by and talk.”

Like it were a sin!

Trying not to lose my temper, I tried to tame the snarl that was forthcoming.

“He's a people person.” I retorted, praying I'd say nothing more. Praying my dominant hand wouldn't decide to tear up the credit card receipts she was sorting out on her desk (a personal business during work hours, if there ever was one.) and fling them in her face.

I left immediately, rabid thoughts seething through my mind as I made my way out.:

I'm a paying client, gosh darn her! But would she have given Woog a hard time if I chewed her out?

So he's late a couple of times. He's four years old, for crying out loud!

And if he's in kindergarten, so what? Don't his grades prove he belongs there?

And Madam, it is people like you who make it impossible for little kids like him to develop the self-esteem to be the persons they're meant to be.

A pox on you, a pox! May you have the fleas of a thousand camels...and all that....

I alternately congratulated (don't react, pro-act!) and castigated (you coward, why didn't you say anything?) myself on the way to the car. What a price to pay for the privilege of living in civilized society.

Atch had his own no-nonsense take on the incident: “That's why we're sending him to school. So he'll have enough sense. That's what you should have told her.”

And so I should have. I resolved to send her a dream that night. And hoped she would wake up screaming.

They don't burn witches anymore, do they?