One proud mom

As a working mom, I don't get many chances to socialize with the other moms at Mark's school. I walk Mark to school, and pick him up at Kid's Club afterwards, and I don't often see other parents.

But slowly I've been meeting them. I met some at Mark's birthday party, and they were all very nice. So I was thrilled last weekend when Mark was invited to Damian's birthday party, and I got to see those parents again.

While the boys were in the laser tag arena, I talked with Damian's mom. She's really nice, and very friendly. We talked about the boys, and she kept saying how sweet her son was.

"He just hates arguments," she said. "A couple weeks ago, some kids were fighting on the playground, and he tried to step in and break it up."

And this is when the parent meet-and-greet went south. That story sounded vaguely familiar.

I gave an embarrassed little laugh and said, "Oh, I think that was my kid!"

She stopped for a moment, but then dismissed my comment, trying to save my dignity. "Oh, maybe," she said. "It was when Mr. Robinson banned them all from playing one-touch for a week."

And...confirmation!

"Yep, that was definitely my kid then!" I said. It figures -- I finally get a chance to talk with other parents, and the first story I hear is about my kid fighting!

The boys came running out of the laser tag game just then. I pointed out Mark and another boy running right next to him.

"There go the two culprits," I told her.

Now it was her turn to be embarrassed.

"Oh, I didn't mean -- " she started. "I was just..." She didn't know where to go with it.

I leapt in to save her. "Don't worry," I said. "It's okay! And the boys were best friends again the next morning, so it's no big deal."

"Yeah, boys are much easier when it comes to stuff like that," she said. "They don't hold grudges like girls do."

I agreed, and we kept on talking. I thought it was pretty funny -- here I finally get to talk to other parents, and the first thing we talk about is Mark's bad behavior!

Nothing like making a good first impression, I always say...