She Ain't Heavy

I like to watch my kids coming out of school each day. It's the only time when they seem completely unaware of my presence. Actually, that's not true - they seem completely unaware of my presence anytime I ask them to do something but that's probably different. When they leave school and make their way to the car, I get to see how they interact with other kids and with each other. Sometimes, it's all smiles. Sometimes, there is obvious arguing. Today, I got a real show. All the other kids had already left the building and I was wondering where the hell my kids were. Then, I saw Miguel emerge. Zeca was several feet behind him and he wasn't waiting for her which is not surprising given that they seem to live at different speeds. But, Zeca stopped dead in her tracks right outside the door and must have yelled to him because he turned around to face her. I didn't know what was going on but body language was telling me the important parts of the story - Zeca was upset about something and Miguel was frustrated with her and she had decided to dig her heels in and refuse to budge. He trudged back over to her and handed her his backpack. I gasped and thought, "I can't believe he is making her carry his backpack!" She had her backpack slung over one arm and then put his on the other. Then, he turned around and she climbed on his back. He slogged through the snow, up a big pile of snow and down the other side on his way to the car.

When they reached the gate, he put her down and took his backpack. They exited the gate and bickered for a bit before he headed to my car and Zeca headed to Luisa's (she was going directly to martial arts). Miguel got in the car and was exasperated. I asked him what happened and he said, "Zeca was upset about something and refused to walk to the car. Mom, I felt like she was blackmailing me and the only way I got her to move was to offer her a piggy back ride. Now, I'm wiped out."

Zeca 1, Miguel 0