Meltdown on the way to the soccer field

Nikko was dozing on the bus coming home, but since today was in the 70's his hair wasn't drenched in sweat like yesterday. I'm glad over the summer his ESY (Extended School Year) class is at Fairview, 1/2 a block away, instead of him having to take a bus. His good mood prevailed throughout the afternoon, through Audrey and Ronin's nap times. Denis came home early from a seminar, and around 5pm the kids were in the backyard, playing and fighting over the ride-on toys in the driveway. It was slightly breezy, but you could see the treetops really swaying so Denis had the idea of going to the school baseball fields to fly kites. Unfortunately there was little league baseball going on, so we continued to walk another block north toward the soccer fields at Prospect High School. Nikko was protesting loudly because he glanced at the school playground and wanted to go there. The good thing is that he didn't take off running or dash away from me to go by himself. The bad thing is that he had a full-out tantrum the entire block to the soccer fields. He'd cry and scream, pull my hand back toward the school, and I'd keep walking forward. He'd stop on the sidewalk and scream some more, then rush at me to pull me back. I had to pick him up two or three times and he squirmed so much that I had to put him back down quickly so I wouldn't get hurt. We got to the fields and some boys practicing soccer probably stared at Nikko screaming while I walked on, encouraging him to keep walking, picking him up under his arms if he sat down in protest. I guess it looked like I was dragging him sometimes, but I tried not to get mad. I have discovered that in these meltdown situations, while I put on my horse blinders to shut out onlookers, I can still look ahead peripherally in order to avoid getting hit by a car or to find the straightest route out of a place. Once we caught up to Denis & the kids, Nikko flopped on the ground all angry, but got over it when he saw the other kids sitting on a bench, and everyone going about their own business. He was back to his own self in minutes, and on the walk home he didn't even glance at the school playground. Maybe he was tired from all the walking and running on the field, or maybe he was hungry and thirsty, but I was just glad we avoided another meltdown. Nikko was fast asleep by the end of prayers and during his tuck-in time. Yea.