It was something that you could almost always find on a mid-Monday afternoon. Mothers from all around would gather near the golf course in Alice Springs, and every last one of them were kangaroos. Of course, their sons were there too.
As usual, Maggie was the center of attention. Her boy was proudly propped up in her pouch and seemed happy to just peer about at all the onlookers. His mother was the big talker of the bunch. “I’m not bragging when I say that Ricky here is no stranger to fame. Wins just about every contest he enters and puts those other boys to shame.”
Surprisingly, the other mothers were not terribly bothered by the outright swanking. Not that she was enjoyable by any means, but Maggie was the one who started this whole thing. She was given a lot of leniency for this reason.
Jamie decided to throw in a compliment just to keep her from getting testy. “He’s growing up real fast. The little joeys gonna leave the nest soon enough.” Everyone present was a little surprised to see a look of horror in the boy’s eyes.
Maggie rubbed Ricky’s head to calm him down. “What’s all this talk about leaving? You’ll scare the poor boy. Ricky’s just a babe. Cut him some slack, girls.”
Gertrude–one of the tubbier of the bunch–took the chance to speak up, “Now, Maggie, you have to let go eventually. All our boys are out playing. Why, just recently, my little Beckley kicked one of them golfers right into the drink. Never saw it coming! He’s a real kicker, he is! Can your boy kick, Maggie?”
Maggie huffed. “I don’t see how kicking any human proves anything! My boy has sensitive feet!” Ricky backed up his mother by nodding profusely.
Jamie rolled her eyes. “Sensitive feet have nothing to do with it, Maggie. You’ll smother the poor boy if you’re not careful! I mean just look over there at Julie Sue.”
Of course, everyone looked. Julie Sue was one of those mothers who was hard not to look at. She was getting on in years and she had let her body blow up to some degree. But the worst thing about it was that her son–who could no longer be considered a child–was hanging halfway in and halfway out of her pouch. It was one of the most awkward arrangements that anyone had ever seen.
As everyone expected, Maggie was out rightly insulted. “What makes you think anything of the sort would happen to me?”
Gertrude answered, “Face it, Mag, poor Ricky is gonna just keep growing up and never move out of your pouch. And don’t you be blaming his sensitive feet when it happens!”
Maggie covered her boy’s ears. “Stop talking like that; you’ll traumatize him!”
Jamie huffed. “Come on, Maggie. Why don’t you just let him out for a bit? Let him get to know the other boys.”
Gertrude agreed, “Yeah, Mag, just let him play outside of your darned pouch for a change. Get him some grass between his toes!”
Maggie was usually the most stubborn of the bunch, but she was not used to being backed into a corner like that. She turned to look at Julie Sue again which only made her shutter. Even she figured that kid needed to get a life. The kangaroo grumbled and guided her son’s head up to look at her. “Okay, baby, these girls won’t leave me alone. How you feel about hopping around with the other boys?”
Ricky was not really sure what to think about that. He was so used to spending time with his mom, but then again, the thought of playing with other boys did sound fun. He decided to meet her halfway. “Can you come watch me?”
Maggie smiled brightly at that response. “Of course, I can!” As she hopped away, she said, “Now, don’t do anything too rough with them. Oh, and don’t kick anything. Don’t run too fast either. Come to think of it, maybe we should just watch them play rather than join in.”
Jamie winced as they hopped away. Gertrude grumbled, “If she keeps this up, she’s gonna need a bigger pouch.” Everyone nodded in agreement.
-Author Notes-
It should be apparent why I chose kangaroos to symbolize mothers. The issue I was trying to bring to the table here is the problem with overprotective mothers. Sensitive feet or not, if a child does not learn to break away from the nest, he will end up in a far worse scenario later in life. Mother and son are both to blame, but I give a special shameful glare to the mother who should have been more responsible.
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