I’m with the Lil’ Moo at the park in the mall, and like every other time we go, he’s good to go until another kid comes within 10 feet of him. At that point, he does the best imitation of a turtle and hides in his shell.

It bothers me, because when I talk to Mommy about it, he doesn’t seem to have problems at the sandbox when they go out. I’m not jealous of her, I’m more concerned that he’s not enjoying himself here than anything.

This week, things changed.

We walked into the play area and there were other kids already in there. My stomach fell, and I went right to my usual spot expecting him to wallflower next to me and mope for the next hour. What happened next blew my mind.

He jumped on the fake log, stood on top, and fell off the other end. Rinse and repeat, and all seemed well. But when another kid came around, instead of finding a hole to hide in, he kept climbing, standing on top, and falling over.

Amazed, I watched to see what he’d do next. After a few minutes, he had enough and hid himself to the other side of the play area. Back to normal, I though. Sitting in his car, he started talking to himself. Another kid came over and…

He started shooting him.

I shit you not, my kid looked at this total stranger who came to the car and started shooting at him. And the kid fell down. When he got up, the Lil’ Moo started going gangster on his ass again.

Next thing you know, half the kids in the play area were shooting at each other. I watched this in total awe. Not only did my boy finally warm up to others here, he did it in style. One second all the boys and girls are playing quiet, the next it’s the Alamo.

My kid started a war.