No Child Is In The Running

(My sister and I are petite females. We go for a run in the park beside our house. Upon entering the park there is a huge amount of children’s toys and props scattered everywhere, including in the middle of the path. There is a large family taking family photos, occupying the only bridge across the river. We have been waiting in plain sight for about ten minutes at this point. One of the mothers walks up to me.)

Mother: “My son keeps crying in all of these photos! Come over here and do a dance with me and get him to smile!” *makes a move to grab my arm*

Me: *takes a step back to avoid physical contact* “Woah! How about NO. This is a public park and we’ve been waiting for a while. How about we just squeeze by you guys so we can get going?”

(The mother looked shocked that I wouldn’t want to entertain her “angel.” At this point the father gave me a look of pity and grabbed his son and stepped aside for the five seconds we needed to cross the bridge. In the future, don’t just assume everyone wants to babysit your kid or that every female loves children.)