Sharing of a Swing

Tuesday was a hot and sunny day. Like any other day Lillian begged Mom to take her to the park. "First, we need to pick up lunch for Dad and his worker's. I hear there is a park next to his work today!" Mom calmly replies to the hundredth request of the park. Anxiously Lillian awaits the arrival of the park, she slightly gets distracted at Dad's job site until Mom tells her it is time to go. "Where's the park, Mom?"

Mom arrives unknowingly to the park. It is a pretty park (with actual shade by the benches) and some good rides. Lillian is happy to be on the see saw, the 2 big slides and so forth. "Mom, play with me! Ride down the slide with me." Lillian begs. Just then a nice mother with a 3 year old daughter and a 7 month old son show up. Lillian is excited to see another girl to play with. They eventually make it to the swings, where Lillian shows off her swinging ability.

Another mother and child arrive. "Lillian, you have been on the swing for 5 minutes. Why don't you share and let the other little girl swing?" Mom absently asks Lillian. Lillian gets down with no thought and when the little girl, Anna, runs to the swing Lillian is stunned for a moment. Mom suggests playing on one of the other many toys.

Out of nowhere a huge screams belts from Lillian's mouth, "I don't want to. . . . No slide, no tire swing, no nothing." Of course, these responses to all of Mom's pleading to do something else while Anna was swinging. "She's been on the swing a long time." Lillian responds after Anna has been on it for less than a minute. "Lillian remember we are sharing. It is nice to share." Mom calmly reminds her. "I am sharing." She responds in a yell, with other sayings coming out of her mouth and now striking Mom. Mom looks around as now there are 3 mothers with children staring at my child as if something was going to rub off of her and on to her children.

"Lillian, you don't act this way at the park. You keep this up and we are going home." Mom kneels and looks Lillian right in the eye. Still, Lillian was determined to have her say and continue on the path she was on. Mom got up and started walking away towards the car. Now the pleadings were "I don't want to go home. You can't make me go home. Mom wait." Mom as calmly as she can responds to her daughter who has been possessed by some tantrum queen states "We are going home."

Mom thinking it was safe to have her in the car soon learned the errors of her thinking as Lillian kicked the passenger seat in front of her, swinging at anything near her and hitting the window all the while screaming at the top of her lungs, "My bum is hot!" When Mom isn't responding she goes further by screaming "My back is hot! My bum is hot! I need to get out of the seat." Mom calmly shouts above her screams, "When we get home."

Mom and Lillian head into the house with a screaming Lillian. It takes Mom 45 minutes to calm her down. What happen to the innocent girl that started out at the park? Who know what could possess a little girl with the sharing of a swing?