Again - don't mess with The Cyclone

I've said it once and I'll say it again. Don't.Do.It.

Understanding the social side of things doesn't come naturally to Cyclone. Give and take, to and fro, the exchange of information, conversations that have more than one side for example.

Actually he doesn't do too badly, but he certainly has an unnatural hatred for anyone in authority. He also can't see why being an adult gives you automatic rights to ummm well.... being right.

In general boys seem to have a huge sense of justice and couple that with a child that has no fear of boundaries and you get this little tale -

I took Cyclone and his little sister Betty Boo to the local indoor pool to burn off some energy. Usually I jump in too but I was having a particularly fabulous hair day and I wasn't going to trash it with chlorine.

I stay close to the side and play with Betty in the shallow end with pants rolled up whilst keeping one eye on the boy.

I look up from Betty and see Cyclone yelling and splashing water violently at another parent and her child. HEY! I call out and race to the closest point to the action. Cyclone looks up at me with his face like a thunder cloud (but bright red) and retreats to the middle of the pool, shouting something I can't hear.

The other parent swims over to me and I go to apologise but something tells me to wait. So I do, and instead of saying sorry immediately I ask her what happened.
SHE apologises to ME and explains she asked Cyclone for one of the 3 floatboards (bigger than a kickboard) he had made into a raft and was happily floating around on.
He said no. She tells me she asked several times but he refused so she just decided to take one from him.

I was incredulous and it must have shown on my face. She apologised again and said she should not have done so "but I asked him 3 times and he still said no". Like I am supposed to agree with her that my son has bad manners???

I frostily pointed out to her that there were 2 other floatboards unused at the other side of the pool and walked away. It wasn't over then though. Every time that woman came within 3 metres of Cyclone he started splashing her again and they ended up leaving.

Well there wasn't much I could do at that point. I was dressed, it was noisy and Cyclone wouldn't come near me to talk him down because he had seen this woman come and talk to me and assumed he was the one in trouble. I just wanted to tell him that he WASN'T in trouble. She was terribly rude. He would have calmed down if he knew I wasn't cross with him (why would I be?)and he would have dropped the splash crusade and gone on his merry way.

I didn't care that they left. If she had accepted that he didn't want to dismantle his raft and found something else to do she might have been pleasantly surprised when Cyclone approached her shortly after to offer her a board on his own terms. He would have you know. He just needs a little more time to process the request.

Did the Aspyness of my boy work in his favour? I'm not sure....I think so. I know that if it had been my older daughter she would have just let the lady take the board because she was an adult and felt upset, bewildered and probably lost some trust in the adult kind (when they need to feel safe with us big people).