Whoa.

I ride all around NYC with my kids. I think everybody knows that by now.

Yesterday my daughters led me to the very back of the M34 bus where it was less populated. They were sitting on the very back row of the back wall of the bus, and I was sitting on their right side, facing the left window. My girls have a hard time sitting still, especially the little one, so at one point she was sitting in the empty seat to my left.

A few blocks into our ride a woman came and sat in the seat on my left, that my daughter had since vacated to sit by her sister on the back row, just perpendicular to that seat. My 2 year old daughter said: "Hey, that's my chair!" in a quiet voice, and more of a whining to my big sister voice, than a bratty, yelling, disrespectful voice. I mean, she is 27 months old. The woman stopped rummaging in her purse and very deliberately turned her head, glared at her and said, quite loudly and with TONE: "Excuse me?"

Wow. That was so out of left field as far as reactions to my toddler go, that I almost started laughing. I thought maybe it was a joke. So, I said: "She's two." She then turned her glaring evil eyes on me and just STARED me down. I don't know what power she thought she could wield over me, but I took that stare as a clear, nonverbal bit of communication and continued: "Do you know any two year olds?" And keep in mind, my tone was non combative, and quite calm and nice.

Her response (still in the TONE of disgust): "Unfortunately, I live with one." Well, I stifled this word: "TOXIC" and just kept that in my head while I said: "Come on girls," and escorted them to the front of the bus. Wow, that was some heavy, pointed toxic energy pointed RIGHT at my little one. Mama Cougar wasn't going to stand for that...well, let me rephrase that, wasn't going to sit for that...I stood up and got OUT of there....whoa.