John made a pronouncement the other day: "Now I'm only going to say 'hi' to the people I know."
For a while, John felt that it was his prerogative to say "hello" to every person he encountered. These little determinations and conclusions must be exhausting for a 4-year old. I remember Will in kindergarten had that same inclination when saying "goodbye" as he left school. He shouted it out to everyone he slightly recognized, up to 500 yards away. It prompted the old parental dilemma: do I just admire as he puts himself out there and other kids stare blankly back, or do I use it as a teaching moment to describe some inexplicable "code of behavior."
With my fourth child, my inclination is just to let him learn on his own and give him some positive karma, pick him up and hug him and think (though not say) how lucky those people are to be beneficiaries of his open his heart.
In that vein, I generally hope I get better as a parent at giving that love vibe more and talking less. It is probably appropriate for me, too, to hold back from screaming across the field to my now 11-year old, "Hi honey! How was your day? I love you! I just think you are a shining star!"
Honestly, we're all probably right there with John: what's the code?
It's not easy being MOTHER...now or forever :*) Hooray for a variety of responses. He likes that vest!
ReplyDeletewow - I like these pictures --- also don't think John's idea is a bad one. Motherhood, like Linda says, is a constant --- nice!
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