The Stalker

Tuesday was un-seasonably warm with just a hint of an icy breeze. Scott had the day off and decided we would all go to the park to play. As soon as Morgan came home from school, we jumped in the pickup and headed into town.

Lots of people had the same idea. The park was swarming with happy children, big and small, enjoying a quick peak at spring. Morgan found a friend from school and ran off to play with her, leaving Zane to play with Mom. Zane was soon bored with the swings and wanted a "real" friend to play with.

Zane spotted a boy about his size on the other side of the playground. He announced he was going to play with his friend. Zane hurried over and began following the boy around on the climbing toy. While sliding down the pole he lost the boy briefly but then spotted him over on the slide. He quickly ran to play with him there. Then the boy ran for his mom. Zane followed and then stared as the boy hid behind his mom. Scott and I watch in hysterics as Zane attempted to "play" with his new friend, even though his new friend didn't know he had been befriended.

As we were leaving the park, Zane expressed his frustration that his friend kept hiding from him. I suggested that maybe next time he should tell his friend his name and ask if he would like to play. Zane thought that was a good idea and asked if we could come to the park tomorrow so he could try again.

I can only imagine the fear the other boy must have felt when he realized he had a stalker.