[Kalamity]

I had a confrontation with my sons dad at the mall yesterday. Two weeks ago he told me that he's been having trouble getting my Matthew (my son) to eat when he has him. (skipping all the boring details) Yesterday I decided I would talk to him to maybe resolve some concerns I have. I opted to be nonconfrontational and remail seated on the mall bench, while he stood. I barely finished saying that I was concerned when his dad gets all defensive. I did my best to remain calm and keep and even speaking voice. He kept insisting that I make too many assumptions and that I don't know what goes on when he has Matthew. My assumptions are not unfounded, they are based on things he says or my son. So he just keeps getting madder and madder and he's yelling at me. I'm 5' 3" and he's 6'4" and is more than 100 pounds heavier than I. He actually stepped right up to where I was sitting so that he was towering over me, glaring at me and being all threatening.

HA! Did he think he could intimidate me? I stood right up and looked up at him, and I gave him a look as though I were the one looking down on him and I told him flat out that I know what I'm talking about. Then I brought up something he did in regards to my son two years ago and asked him how that was an assumption on my part and he turned around and walked out of the mall without even taking Matthew with him.

I don't care if he was mad at me or disagreed with me. That's his perogative. But to walk out on his son like that and leave him not knowing what the heck happened? That was mean and selfish and it more than demonstrates that my assumptions are founded on realtiy.

Being the bigger man I did not subject my son to my anger. I smiled and told him that daddy had to leave and that we were going to find something else to do. For the record, Matthew wasn't subjected to the argument, as he was with my other son playing in a photobooth a little ways away.

ARGGH!!! Sometimes I wish he would move to the other side of the country and leave us alone.

Whew. I needed to vent that.

[(JD)]

Sounds good to me... now what will you do since you feel your "assumptions" are correct?

[Kalamity]

He called me apologizing about two hours later and asked me what he should do. I told him 1) to go speak with a doctor since he seems to disbelieve me and 2) to take a parenting class.

That should hopefully alleviate my concerns about the well-being of my son.