Getting Past The Mama Drama!

[Ekittenbrown]

This summer I gave birth to my fourth child. My three older children are, 9, 7, and 4 years old. We live in an apartment complex that has a play area, and our apartment is in view of most of the playground. I allow my kids to go play there together on their own. My oldest is pretty good at checking in to let me know what's going on and if the baby is awake I usually will join my kids especially if I feel they need more attention. Which sometimes is the case. One day while I was nursing my baby my son came in telling me that there was some trouble going on with my younger two children. I went to find my shoes to see what was the matter. I got out there to find three other moms talking to my youngest child about her hair.

Back story: My younger two children have had cases of head lice and earlier that week one of the other moms had shared with me that her daughter had it and she had spent time cleaning her house, and treating her child. I told her that because of school we've been doing the same on and off for the past two years, I also shared that we were going to have to find a non chemical treatment to use again because. They had it again and because I was breast feeding I couldn't touch the chemical treatments. We were also waiting for a special natural treatment that my mom found and ordered to arrive in the mail. I figured that all this conversation was just us sharing our issues. Little did I know what would happen.



I went out to where my kids were to be confronted by not only this mom, but two other moms. They took their moment to tell me basically what a horrible mom I was letting my kids play outside. Then one mom decided it was her job to educate me with how to treat my kids' condition...telling me that lice jump....(fleas jump, lice crawl) and that it will cause her kids to be infested (infestation comes from rubbing heads, clothing, or infected combs or brushes on others hair). I just stood there with my baby in my arms listening to them go on with their plight. Meanwhile my kids were there hearing these women, as well as the other kids hearing them. Since they didn't let me plead my case, and I almost in tears, turned myself around gathered my kids, and headed into the house. The next day my mom came over to help me with the baby while I made sure my kids got treated. Then I spent three days cleaning the whole house.
I felt so bad...my kids were tagged dirty by these moms who even after they were treated the other kids wouldn't play with them. I felt horrible too. Part of me wished I could have given them a piece of my mind when it all went down, but I think if I had done that it would have made things worse. My older son told me that one of the moms were touching my youngest child's head and asking her questions......this is when I felt violated.
What came of all this? My kids play with other kids, the three moms still give me the evil eye, but now they see my face every day my kids are on the playground...at first I felt like a victim, but after lots of prayer I came to this conclusion. This was a lot of drama over little bugs...I have the feeling that if it wasn't the bug issue they would've found something else to frustrate themselves about me. I also had to make up my mind to forgive them. Otherwise the whole situation would eat me alive. Maybe one day the situation will completely mend itself. I told my kids that if any of the adults in the apartments try to ask them anything else they need to just come straight home, or to tell that person to talk to me. I also changed the rules of where my kids play when I can't go out right away. They play on our front patio, or along the walk way by our apartment.
One thing I have made up in my mind not to do, is talk about these three moms to anyone else in our apartments. I figure most would take this whole thing for a, Who's on my side, trip. I have chosen not to take that road. First of all I'm better than that, second of all I have 3 sets of little eyes seeing this whole thing play itself out. I feel bad for these moms now. I hear their kids say they miss my kids. One little girl talks to my daughter everytime we walk past her apartment. I let her talk to the girl until the girl gets called inside. I guess it just needs time.