Dear Rabid Baseball Mom...

Yes, I yelled at your kid.

And yes, I realize that I over-reacted.

Which is what I tried to tell you when you walked past me on your way back to your seat in the bleachers.

"I'm sorry. But from here, it really looked like..."

"YEAH? WELL, YOU COULD HAVE BEEN NICER!"

And I spent the rest of the game trembling alone in my lawn chair while you maintained arm-waving, finger-pointing conversations with your friends.

I suppose, if you had been paying attention to your kid rather than your friendly conversations, you might have seen what I thought I saw instead of needing to ask the assistant coach (who nearly -I thought- got his kidneys smashed by your kid's bat) what had happened that made me yell at your kid.

Only my earth-shattering cry of "NOOOOOoooooooOOOOO!" drew your attention to what your boy was doing.

I'm embarassed that I stopped the game.

Every head turned as I ran to the batting cage and shouted, "You don't swing that bat in here when someone else is in here!"

Then I asked the assistant coach if he was okay.

And he told me he was fine. There was room enough in the cage. He'd been far enough over in the corner picking up batting helmets.

But he'd had his back to your boy.

And he had not seen the swing.

If he'd been just a little closer, (because he was paying as much attention as you were) he'd have been hit.

Hard.

So, then you walked over to ask what had happened.

The coach told you he was fine.

Then you announced, "So, he didn't do anything wrong?"

And you strode smartly back to your seat.

Telling me I could have been nicer.
In such a nice way, I might add.

Well, let me tell you, lady...

If you EVER see MY kid put someone in physical danger, on purpose or not, I sure as hell hope you are far more concerned for safety than you are for being nice.

You shout it from the mountain tops.

You make sure he never does that thing again.

Because I don't want my kid living with that guilt.

And by the way, you're welcome.

Because your kid never practiced a swing again without looking around first.

Enjoy the game.