I am sitting on a bench in an amusement park waiting for my family members to get off of a ride that I didn't want to go on. I am also watching my two-year-old nephew since he is not tall enough to ride. He sits in his stroller in from of me.

A couple yards down the bench sits a middle aged woman and a three- or four-year-old boy. From the corner of my eye, I watch them. They are waiting for someone to get off of the ride as well. I assume that the boy is not her son since she appears to be in her late forties or so and doesn't treat him like one. The boy is eating a pretzel and the woman is talking to him about his uncle, who is the one on the ride.

A few minutes later the man that they were waiting for comes down the hill from the ride and joins them. They both stand up from the bench and the woman greets the much younger man.

Then the woman hands the child a bottle of water. He drinks a bit and then upturns the bottle. About a cup of water spills onto the black asphalt.

The woman quickly grabs the bottle away, grasps his arm, and yanks him closer. "No!" she scolds.

At this point I look entirely away, straight down at my nephew. He looks on though, as children do.

I hear a slap from the woman and assume that she hit his arm since I was too busy not looking to see. The boy begins to cry. "That water was four dollars!" she continues to yell. "It's a shame that you spilled it."

I think, It's a shame that you would hit a child. It's just a little water. Have you ever heard the saying "Don't cry over spilled milk?" I think it applies to water, too.

She sits him back on the bench and sternly tells him to finish eating his pretzel. The boy continues to cry.

They leave a little bit after that, but I don't turn to watch them go.