other kids - exhibit B) the diva

Shortly after I had put the boys on the tire swing, I looked over and noticed two girls standing in front of it. I watched as they got closer and closer until they were standing close enough to touch the boys. The one might have been nine and the other was around five or six. They stood there with their arms crossed, obviously waiting for a turn on the tire swing with about as much attitude as possible. I heard one of them say, "We're standing right here." As if my boys would have any idea what she meant by that sarcastic remark. They just continued to spin, happy as larks.
I decided it might be time for me to intervene so I walked over to the swing and let the girls know that my boys weren't finished yet with their turn but that they (the girls) could get on as soon as they were done. The six year old, who still had her arms crossed over her chest, looked at me and said, "We've been waiting a long time." And, I kid you not, she rolled her eyes. At that point I felt it necessary to inform her that she had only been waiting for about a minute and that she could continue to wait until they were done. I really, really wanted to push the boys some more just to make her, and her little snarky attitude, wait even longer but, to my dismay, Jem announced that they were finished about 30 seconds later. The boys wiggled out of the tire and ran off. I let the girls know that they could have their turn and also let them know that they could work on being patient. (I know. I just couldn't help myself.)
As I was walking back over to where Caia was sitting, the younger one was trying to get onto the swing and having a tough time. She looked over at me and said, "It's hard to get on this swing." And that is when I became the horrible lady who doesn't put a kid on a swing. Instead I just looked at her and said, "Yeah, it is." And even that wasn't enough for her. Once she managed to get herself onto the swing with her friend she looked at me again and said, "We could use a push over here." It was another one of those "are you kidding me" moments. Was this little six year old really going to ask me to push her on the tire swing after she was rude and disrespectful to me not even a minute prior? No freaking way was that going to happen! She didn't even ask me. It was more of an order or a command. And my own inner six year old came out and said, "Well, you're not getting one from me." Actually, I wanted to say much worse to her like, "You're awful!" or "I'm glad you aren't my kid." I wisely kept my mouth in check and just allowed the moment to make me thankful that I have worked so hard with my kids on being respectful of others. Does it always go the way I want? Of course not. But I can't imagine my children ever speaking to an adult that way. I'm sure it will happen at some point and I can only hope that I am there to put a stop to it and correct the behavior.
I did learn one great lesson from our day at the park. If you are feeling discouraged about your kids, just go somewhere and watch other people's kids for a while. You will undoubtedly come across some sort of horrible behavior that you would never allow and you'll suddenly feel like a superstar parent. Right up until the moment when it's time to leave and one of your sweet little angels has to be carried to the car kicking and screaming. But at least that will make some other stressed out mom feel better about herself and her kids. It's a cycle and we're all in it together.