Thanks to everyone for your advice and prayers about our situation. Things were fairly quiet for the next few evenings. I kept an eye out for them but didn’t run into either one. Then last night, it started up again. There was slamming and screaming. We could hear the small boy shrieking.
Brian just got up and put on his shoes and left without a word. I started to pray. 10 minutes passed. He came back and told me that he spoke with the mother. The entire time that they were speaking the boy kept screaming.
He wanted candy.
She looked pretty worn out and matter of fact. She told Brian that her son had some behaviour issues and would scream when he didn’t get his way. So he screams when its bedtime or when he wants something and doesn’t get it. She was very apologetic that everyone could hear them. She admitted that sometimes she yells back when she doesn’t know what else to do. Brian stayed for a moment to make sure everything was kosher. He felt satisfied by the story because while he was still there, the boy kept screaming for candy. He told the mother that if she needed any help to let us know. She told him she was thankful that someone at least checked on them; after all, if it WAS something, wouldn’t you want to know that your neighbours would stand up?
I’m going to try to send some baking or something down in the next week or so and also offer to watch him on a Saturday afternoon or something in case she wants to do her grocery shopping or something. My heart is often with single parents. It’s a hard road and they are so brave. But I wonder if there isn’t something special needed to be a single mother to a little boy particularly those that seem to need a father-figure so badly in their life.
