Punch.

I've got a mouth. Within this mouth lies a sarcastic tongue that's a wicked smart ass. Around this mouth are loose lips. Together, they have always said exactly what my brain is thinking. Fortunately, this combo must also contain some charm. Because in my 37 years of existence, I've never been punched. And of course, I've never thrown a punch—I'm a lover.

The playground has been a bit rough lately. On Saturday, the wifey and I watched as four young boys (all between the ages of 5 and 9) beat the shit out of each other. There were punches to the throat and kicks to the face. Oh yeah, their mom/guardian just sat on a nearby bench and watched, too. Occasionally, she'd call them over for some hydration. Okay ... Whatever ... They're not my kids and as I mentioned before, I'm not into parenting children that I'm not responsible for. But still, I don't want my impressionable two year old to absorb this behavior.

Today, the lil' man and I were hanging out at the playground with my favorite stay-at-home mom and her two wonderful kiddos that are 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 years old. Like always, we were all having a lot of fun together. Then a 6 year old bully emerged and did what bullies do. Pick on someone that is different and smaller. Yeah, that's right, pick on the only blonde haired, white, two year old in the park. He gave MY lil' man a two handed shove to the chest. I stayed put. I wanted to observe the response of my lil' man before interfering. Besides, I knew that he was just going to run to daddy—I mean, shit, he's two. To my surprise, my lil' man gave that little bastard an even harder two handed shove to the chest—knocking the much larger boy to the ground. I jumped up. Before I could get there, they had already exchanged several more shoves. Obviously, I brought an abrupt end to this foolishness.

At first, I thought, "What the fuck are we doing here? It's kinda frightening! Why aren't we back in our safe, rural, homogenous community? Surely, we wouldn't be experiencing this shit there. What the fuck have we done?" I got a grip! This is what boys do everywhere. Yeah, two seems a bit young. But, I guess you've just gotta deal with stuff as it comes along. I'm not sure how I should feel about my lil' man sticking up for himself and shoving back. Should I be proud? Should I be upset? Would I feel better or worse if he'd just walked away? Dunno, but I sure would be proud if he made it 37 years without taking or throwing a punch.