Who the HELL is that??!?

Piper is one of my current after school kids. She's in K.

When we go outside, I have to keep an eye on her a little more than I do with the other kids. She wanders outside of our boundaries and she approaches adults she doesn't know for conversations.

The grounds of the school are very large, and a lot of people come to run their dogs out in the field. We don't go out in the field anyway, it's too far away from our safety zone. I like to keep the kids closer to the entrance doors in case we have to evacuate the playground.

I'd have to say that the majority of adults on the playground are parents who are there to hang out with their kids after school. There are a few who show up nearly every day, in fact.

But I've talked to Piper several times about not approaching people she doesn't know. I've explained more than once that she's supposed to stay in our area and hang out with the kids, not go talk to people she doesn't know.

Just before I left on vacation I had to go get her from the basketball court, she was talking to someone's dad (a kid from the program, so I knew he was a safe person, more or less) but she was outside the boundaries. She always agrees not to do it again, but she does it anyway. She's just an outgoing kid and keeps going past the edges of our space.
She has gotten better about it, it's going to take time.

So today she was collecting flowers from under a tree to help one of the other girls build a fairy house. She got up to bring the flowers back (on the run, of course, because she's five and she runs everywhere she goes) and tripped and fell. I went to her to see if she was okay, and she showed me a big raspberry on her right hip.

I sent her to get a wet paper towel to clean it a bit, instructing her not to rub it but to dab it gently, and to come back and we'd bandage it.

When she came back, we put a bandage on and she went skipping off to play.

Just then, one of the other kids needed his shoe tied and I had to give the clipboard to a mom to sign her son out.

I turned around and saw Piper waaaay on the edge of our boundary with her pants about half down in front with an adult male I did not recognize. He was leaned down looking at her skin and had his hands on her! One hand on her shoulder and one hand on her little tummy next to the bandage. OH MY GOD.

I started over there to raise hell while pulling out the phone to call the police. Then the guy straightened up and took a half step to one side and I saw Piper's little brother with him.

It was then that I realized the 'stranger' was Piper's dad. But until today I had never seen him without a mask and I had not recognized him.

That was early in the afternoon.
I spent the rest of the day trying to recognize the parents.

We are no longer masking in Oregon, and it's going to be interesting for a couple days.

I'm just really glad it wasn't some weirdo on our playground. I'm sure I don't have to tell you what went through my mind as I was heading in their direction.

Geez.