I am going to brag about my kid. Please humor me. I have become the mom of a problem child at school, the mom to whom the teachers have to talk every time she picks up her child, the mom who needs to teach her child to listen, sit still, stay in time out, and not shoot the teacher with imaginary pistols. So if I have something to brag about, I sure as heck am going to take the opportunity.
This is what I have to brag about:Yesterday David, Mary, and I went to visit my friend Ruby in the hospital, where she is recovering from surgery, and David was an angel throughout the experience.
- When I told David what we were doing, he was excited, shouting for joy.
- When I suggested that it would be nice to make a picture for Ruby, he enthusiastically agreed. (I love his positive attitude.)
- When I asked what he wanted to paint, he carefully considered the matter, finally responding with "Jesus!" (Without any prompting from me--in fact, I hadn't thought of it myself!)
- Although he wanted a little bit of help with the placement of the facial features, he basically painted Jesus all by himself.
- At first he wanted to write his name on the picture, but then he reconsidered and decided it would be better to write Ruby's name. So, without any help at all, he painted a big blue R for Ruby on the picture. (Yes, that blue streak is an R.)
- Using a foam stamp, he thoughtfully added a truck to the picture. (Ruby drives a small pick-up, which David thinks is very cool and must be an indication that Ruby loves monster trucks.)
- David maintained his excitement about the prospect of going to the hospital, which helped immensely as we were trying to get out the door--David's enthusiasm translated into momentum, which we usually lack anytime we try to leave the house.
- We stopped at the store on the way to buy a balloon. David was so good at the store! He didn't grab things off shelves, roll around on the floor, or try to run away in the parking lot. He picked out a Dora balloon.
- David was patient on the ride there and while I figured out where to park.
- David stayed right next to me in the parking garage and inside the hospital. (It was a really big complex, and there were lots of places he could have run off to.)
- David was enthusiastic about the whole experience--the parking garage, the breezeway, the automatic doors, the elevators, the construction project, the bustle of doctors and nurses. David is a really fun guy to have around!
- David was a great visitor. He sat right down on a chair next to Ruby. He pointed out Dora on the balloon and Jesus in the picture. Then he happily chatted with her about the machines in the room, her remote control, monster trucks, his blue triceratops, Grandma Evie, and the big crane out the window. He was polite and charming. (My heart was melting!)
- When it was time to leave, he didn't want to go. (And I had been so worried he would be begging to leave after 10 seconds!) We compromised and decided to stay 5 more minutes.
- On the way back to the car, he again stayed right with me. (It was marvelous that I wasn't dragging him, nor was he running away from me.)
- Overall, David was very, very pleasant to be with. (Mary, on the other hand, . . . I guess you can't have everything.)
By the way, David wasn't the worst one at preschool today. For me, that's worth bragging about too.
