Yesterday was feverish. In all senses of the word . My previous post was evidence of a certain delirium, I think. Anyway, I felt I was on the mend, but then was stricken with a fever and chills and general accompanying misery, compounded with dismay about Kipp's birthday party. We decided Dean could haul the boys off to the bowling alley if need be, or we could have postponed, but by this morning my fever had broken. Some motrin took care of the aches and pains and the party went on as scheduled, although I mostly stayed behind the scenes.
But even from behind the scenes I could see that there is something very, very psychologically wrong with one of the boys we'd invited. All of the boys were given little inflatable swords and knight helmets and most of them got into the fun spirit of things, except for this one child. His face would contort with serious, murderous intent and he'd pound on the other hapless kids for all he was worth, every sinew threatening to pop out of his neck.
I've been around kids for a while now, but I never saw anything like this, never such aggression, violence and rage. My husband was referring to him as "Satan" by the end of the party and that film "The Bad Seed" was running a loop through my head.
I do feel for him; I can't help but wonder what is going on in his little brain and what has happened in his life, pre- and post-birth to have caused such aberrant behavior. I know only a little of his story. His father was a grade school classmate of mine, a good-humored, comical sort of fellow who later got involved in drugs, did time in jail, got married and was on the road to respectability when he fathered this child. Drugs entered the picture again, the marriage dissolved, and I'm not sure why, but I believe he's back in jail.
So, there's the case of a fractured home life. I wonder too about birth defects.
But I wonder just as much about his mom. I wonder if she is in some sort of denial. Because I see her too at basketball down at the Y on Fridays. I volunteered to be one of the coaches for the kindergarten boys, and while her child is all over the gym, causing trouble, not listening, pegging other kids in the head with the ball, she's just over on the bleachers having social visitation with the other moms. I'd be all over Kipp like a duck on a June bug if I saw him acting like that.
Maybe she's exhausted. She has raised other children who are in their twenties so this child, this child of her mid-life crisis, may be requiring more energy than she has to give. I don't know if there's any way to help. She and I aren't friends (though we are, I believe, second cousins--not that that means anything around here), but Kipp's small school will put us often into social contact. I will do my best to be sympathetic.
10:19:23 PM 
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