That scary man

my usually stoic son, Cash was totally and utterly freaked out today. its no secret that he is a shy boy and it takes him more than a minute to warm up to people. but if you give him enough time he'll charm your socks right off. i know i can't expect complete strangers to know this but most people either realize he's a shy kid and move on or are sensitive enough to give him a little time.

today we encountered a very scary man. we were at Costco, i was sitting with the boys while Chandler was getting us some lunch. Cash and i were sitting on the opposite sides of a picnic bench and the man behind Cash seemed harmless enough (an older, white haired man) but it all changed when he opened his mouth. he was so creepy. its better if you can here my impression but imagine a very scary Halloween witch voice. he said, "eat your pizza little boy". Cash turned around and looked at me like he just saw a ghost. i just smiled because i didn't want to freak Cash out. the man continued in his witchy voice, "eat it before i get it". Cash got even more freaked at which time i said to him, "ok, that's enough". He didn't stop "i'm gonna get your pizza" at which point Cash screamed and started a complete melt down. he ran over to my side of the table and clung to me like a baby gorilla to its mamma. Chandler came back from getting napkins and Cash just started crying harder so i removed him from the situation. i thought when Chandler sat down Cash would calm down and we would be able to go back to the table and eat our lunch. no way. if i even thought about walking back to the table Cash would grip me harder and beg not to go. Chandler gathered everything up and met us by the door. i went back over to the man and said, "i'm not sure what you were trying to do, or if you were trying to frighten him but he is very scared of you. you are a very scary man." the man looked at me like i was crazy and said in a very dismissive tone, "of course not." and i said, "well you did and i would have appreciated it if you had stopped teasing him when i asked." i then turned and walked away. i was happy i said something.

poor baby. he kept asking in the car where the scary man went and he told Chandler that "that man scared me". we had to tell him that mommy yelled at him to "stop being scary" and "go away from Cash" and that he went far, far away. we haven't heard about him since we have been home. i kind of want to talk to Cash about it but don't want to bring it up. i think i'll just let it go because i told him on our way home that Mommy and Daddy wouldn't let that man get him and that we were around to keep him safe. i know he heard me.

its the kind of moment that you wish your husband was there to yell at the guy - but that isn't Chandler's style so i'm glad i gave the guy the stink eye.