is it just me?

several months ago I was trying to get out the door with my dog and my kid to go for a walk. this is not that easy. I managed to get the leash on the dog, but as soon as I opened the door he bolted and ran down the driveway and across the street straight at another dog. fortunately, my dog is not ferocious. nutty, yes. but not mean. so I hustle out there after him, and hope that once the people see the kid on my back they will feel sorry for me. I especially think this once I see that it is two parents and a child walking this dog. by the time I get there, the husband is holding their dog in his arms (with a kid on his back) and standing on the leash of my dog (very considerate). the woman is giving me the look of death. I apologize, grab my dog, scold him entirely for their benefit and get walking. They do not give me any indication that they are feeling understanding or sympathetic, and this makes me mad.

We start seeing these people all the time. They cross the street away from us every time we pass them. I feel they should be our new best friends, because look! they are just like us! they live in our neighborhood, they have a dog, their kid is the same size as ours. But no. Instead I brand them my arch enemy. This starts to be a fun game. I have completely demonized them. I hoped when we moved to our new house, which is walking distance from our old house, we had moved just far enough that we wouldn't see them. But, we did. They pass by our new house all the time. My dog barks out the window at their dog. But I stopped looking closely at them a while ago. Until Sunday. I was returning home and they were right in front of my house. I looked at the kid and thought "that kid looks exactly the same age as Baby Lizard" again lamenting that they were foe not friend. And all of a sudden, the woman looks up and it's Charo! Not THE Charo, but Charo mom of little kid at Baby Lizard's new school. Ha. I immediately wonder if she has figured out that I am the irresponsible mom whose dog came running at her months ago. Did she recognize me at the picnic? If so, she didn't say anything. Anyway, her dog was pulling in to my driveway so I went to say hi, which is what I do to all dogs. I'm a dog person. And she pulls him away and says "he's not friendly". Now I get it! That is what was at the root of the whole thing! She was terrified of what her mean little dog would do to my dog or me or my kid. I mean, she probably also thinks I am an irresponsible mess but the real problem is her mean terrier. It's not even friendly enough to let a stranger come within ten feet! But now I need to find a new arch enemy. There's just too much friendliness in the world.