One of my favorite qualities in my son Rhett is the comfortable silence we share when he is not on the go. I thoroughly enjoy spending evening hours without saying a word. We don't need words to be on the same page. There's facial expressions, body language, and of course some music to keep things from being awkward. Most people don't understand this. They have oral diarrhea. Some people just have to talk.
Today I witnessed something awesome. We took Rhett to the park after visiting our local and lacklustre fair, and after taking him for lunch at Tim Hortons. He didn't pick his food apart, made minimal mess, and used a napkin. GO RHETT!! Mommy's so proud of you!! But I digress.
We arrived at the park to see picnic tables lined up and several children wearing silly pointed hats. A birthday party. This made me nervous initially. Will someone stare at him? Ask him a question and unwittingly cause him embarrassment by waiting for an answer? Will he bite a child? Will the other children ignore him?
I walked him over to the teeter totter so I could sit him down to spray some Bactine on his scraped knee. When I turned around from putting the Bactine under Cailum's stroller, I saw a child on the teeter totter with Rhett. Rhett didn't weigh enough for it to work efficiently, and soon another child ran over. They shuffled around a bit to get the best weight distribution. They smiled at one another but they never expected Rhett to say a word, and never asked why he didn't. A few of the kids took off, leaving just Rhett at the first boy. They'd learned from trial and error that the two of them couldn't make it work earlier. Normally I'd be inclined to go over and help, but we're trying to teach him to have some Independence while he plays. This one amazing little boy actually got off of the teeter totter and stood beside it, bouncing the other end so Rhett could ride. He made him so happy!
In a world full of rude bratty children, this was a heartwarming sight. After a while the boy moved on to something else and another little girl took a place on the opposite end of the teeter totter. She asked "Do you want me to play with you?" and Rhett smiled. This arrangement didn't last long. Neither of them could have weighed more than 35lbs. They both booked it for the swings, where the little girl yelled repetitively "Mommmmaaaaayyy.. COME PUSH ME. MOMMMM. MOM!!!!" I smiled. That isn't part of my world... yet.
It's nice to see that some children can interact silently without question or judgement. They don't ask why he doesn't speak, they don't whisper to one another that he is "weird." They just want to play. Adults are so judgemental.
Don't forget to check back. I'm working on entries about sunless tanners, colour theory, and a fragrance review.
-H.Cat
This post really made me smile. I've given up my dreams of being an elementary school teacher, because kids these days just seem so mean. Then I hear stories like this, and realize just like the rest of the world I can't let how a few rotten kids act soil my opinion of all children.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing something this sweet. :)
You're welcome :)
ReplyDeleteIt was a totally refreshing sight for me, too. Unexpected. I just assumed all kids were monsters these days. Except the one's a personally know, of course haha.