Not Cool. Not Cool AT ALL.

Our yard backs up to County park land.  In the summer, it looks like we live in the woods.  At this time of year, with the trees bare, you can see through the trees and across the creek to the street behind us.  People walk and play back there even though it's chock full o' poison ivy and dog shit (always a pet peeve) and even though it's not our property, it always creeps me out to see people in what appears to be my yard.  I'm all about privacy, boundaries and safety; I hate feeling like any of those are being violated.

As Natalie and I were snuggling in my room earlier, I noticed 3 people approaching through the trees in a strange way.  That's when I noticed that one had a bandana over his face, another had a full black ski mask and both had big guns.  The 3rd, shorter member of the crew was barefaced and obviously an older child so I figured that we weren't under invasion by commandos.  Still, the masked "men" (they looked to be tall preteens or average sized-teens) were making the younger one move from tree to tee, hugging each tree like a prisoner as he moved along so it wasn't exactly an innocent stroll through nature.  Many of the trees have poison ivy vines which I understand are not totally dormant in the cold so I felt extra sorry for him.  The bigger boys were creeping around like soldiers, holding their weapons like a professional on a hunt and it was very disconcerting to see.

It's no secret that I hate guns with every fiber of my being.  I feel VERY passionately that they are dangerous tools of violence and should never, ever be made into toys.  What kind of message does a toy like that send to children?  So to see these almost-children prowling and chasing like predators made me very upset.  The fact that they were practically in my yard where my children play filled me with rage.  I respect that other parents can buy whatever "toys" they see fit for their children but it's my right to want that shit to stay in their houses, away from my home and my family.  Grrrr, I'm still shaky.  I mean, before I realized it was a "game," it scared the shit out of me to see a masked gunman approaching my house!  Thankfully, Jack was in the playroom building with Legos.  I can only imagine the questions I'd be fielding if he'd seen those mini-Rambos.  What a world we live in where women are made to feel obscene when they discreetly breastfeed their infants in public but it's a-okay to arm children with military "toys" and let them watch violent, blood-soaked shows and video games.  One more reason that homeschooling looks attractive at times...