drama....of sorts...

ok, so....in the midst of my grocery rounds i stopped to fill up my gas tank at the kroger's to get my 10 cents off per gallon...and as i was trying to hold my jacket closed with one hand as i pumped gas with the other, i noticed a sad bit of drama unfolding just across the right-of-way.....a saturday morning child hand-off between estranged parents.....the diaper bag, the toys, the carseat, the bottle, and finally the toddler.....i suppose the list is what caught my eye...the mamma was trying to engage the daddy in what was written on a yellow legal-pad....and he was focused on the transfer of stuff, and his inattention to the legao pad appeared to upset the mamma, and the tension i could feel yards and yards away eventually caught up with the little one, who started crying......and i nearly started crying myself, what with the dreary rain priming the pump......i was reminded of trying to escape the heights of the spires when we visited the sagrada familia in barcelona.....my party had gotten off the elevator, and i was immediately stricken with the fear that i would fall over the barriers to my death.....i managed to inch my way to the steps leading back down to earth.....and as i was just about to grasp the handrail, a father and son bolted past me...the son hurrying down the steps and the father in pursuit....and i recall the father berating the son so passionately of his cowardice in italian that i started to cry the moment the son burst into tears....gentle readers.....i do not speak italian, but i know when i am being shamed in many languages....yeah- pappa italiano was not shaming me directly, but i felt his biting words as sharply as the child he belittled...... so what do these two scenarios have in common?....i suppose it is the fantasy we all cling to...that our interactions with friends and family are somehow insulated and separated from the world that surrounds us....and that nobody pays attention to our public antics......ah well.....my countertop is filled with the makings of vegetable soup, and if i am very efficient with my cooking time i can still sneak in a nap before supper.....and sleep- perchance to dream of sweet and positive family dynamics.....