Do I look like a gay mom?

My friend (I'll call her Phyllis) and I had quite an adventure yesterday. She has two boys (ages 2 and 6 months), and we decided to take the children to a park a ways outside of Nazareth. It's been really hot lately, but yesterday... well, it wasn't cool, but it was cooler and overcast, so at least the sun wasn't out!

Well, we arrive at the park and there are just swarms of young men, grouped into teams (designated by different colored t-shirts) and doing various drills. Many of them had AK-47s strapped to their bodies, and a couple of IDF soldiers were standing guard at the entrance. Apparently we walked in on an IDF training session for young Israelis! There were other kids playing at the park, however, and the boys were practicing in a field away from the playground equipment, so Phyllis and I decided that we could still take the kids for some fun. They had a blast for about an hour, climbing on the "spiderwebs" and playing on the slide. After that, we saw all the young men (as well as a few women) running up to play area. I guess their drill time was finished so imagine, if you will, about 200 young men in this little park area designed for eight year-olds. Yeah. Phyllis and I look at each other and say, "I think it's time to pack up." My son, by this time, has noticed that some of the soldiers are wearing guns, and, like most four year-old boys, he has a fascination with these charming pieces of equipment. He starts to walk up to one of the soldiers, but I, with my cat-like mommy reflexes, sprint to the opposite end of the playground and grab my son before he inadvertently does any damage. We hurriedly pack our bags, get the kids organized, and leave the park before our children get lost in a sea of young men (BTW, neither my son nor her eldest speak a lick of Hebrew).

Since our play date was cut shorter than anticipated, we decide to go to a coffee shop for drinks. As we're getting our kids situated (4, 2, 1, and 6 mos), one of the bussers comes up and starts helping us with high chairs, cleaning off the table, etc. She turns to Phyllis and says in her broken English, "She is the mom and you are the gay mom?" Now Phyllis, who is infinitely British, smiles and says, "no, we're just friends." (I think this lady was a little embarrassed at this point) As soon as the lady walks away, Phyllis exclaims, "I know I look a little rough today with no makeup and my face all flushed, but do I look like a gay mom??!!" At which point we start giggling hysterically. You know you're not in Nazareth when someone just walks up and asks you if you're gay!

All in all, we had lots of fun, despite the whole army training thing and the chaos of that many young kids all together. I would have posted pictures, but I figured the IDF would not look kindly upon me taking pictures of their training :-)

P.S. Just to clarify, the soldiers were not practicing with the guns at the playground. That would've sent Phyllis and me running for the car before our kids' feet hit the playground!