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I have a 6 year old that's in a state of "disequilibrium" which, for the uninitiated, means he's got a short fuse and a chip on his shoulder with blinking letters which read, "Unfair". What's unfair, you ask? The fact that my son's brain and body have gotten out of alignment in their growth spurts and he suddenly realizes that he is not master of his own domain.... or any other domain... anywhere. Sometimes it's hard to be six, especially if you have older siblings whom you incorrectly assume have it all together- after all, the 8 year old sibling NEVER loses at Sorry, ergo life is fundamentally unsound.
I took him for a mommy morning; sometimes time away from siblings is good for the soul. We stopped at the auto parts store and bought a new tail light and red tape and ordered a tail light assembly. He held the parts while I yanked the old bulb out. He compared the new light to the old. He helped me put red tape over the hole in the old assembly. He walked in the parts store ALONE to return the scissors and say thank you. He swaggered out.
Next we went to Starbucks. He bought an Izzy that he coddled the rest of the day. All his. No need to gulp.
The County Clerk's office was fun too. Lots of strange people to look at, and he got to hand the papers to the registrar. She chatted with him. He swaggered some more.
Cosco. The crowning glory. Inexplicably full of samples early in the day. Even dropping the free smoothie didn't dampen his mood though they dampened his clothing. We chatted and chatted and he thought up a menu for the household. A very alarming man with one bulging eye handed him a small American flag while we were in line. He thanked the man and self-consciously waved it slightly while I payed.
In the van, I asked him if he had had a nice day with me. He answered in an uncharacteristically shy voice, "This was the best day ever because for my whole life I have always wanted one of these flags!"
I choose to believe that the flag, in the grand tradition of flags, represented something more- and even if it didn't, there is nothing more precious than a 6 year old day.
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I have a 6 year old that's in a state of "disequilibrium" which, for the uninitiated, means he's got a short fuse and a chip on his shoulder with blinking letters which read, "Unfair". What's unfair, you ask? The fact that my son's brain and body have gotten out of alignment in their growth spurts and he suddenly realizes that he is not master of his own domain.... or any other domain... anywhere. Sometimes it's hard to be six, especially if you have older siblings whom you incorrectly assume have it all together- after all, the 8 year old sibling NEVER loses at Sorry, ergo life is fundamentally unsound.
I took him for a mommy morning; sometimes time away from siblings is good for the soul. We stopped at the auto parts store and bought a new tail light and red tape and ordered a tail light assembly. He held the parts while I yanked the old bulb out. He compared the new light to the old. He helped me put red tape over the hole in the old assembly. He walked in the parts store ALONE to return the scissors and say thank you. He swaggered out.
Next we went to Starbucks. He bought an Izzy that he coddled the rest of the day. All his. No need to gulp.
The County Clerk's office was fun too. Lots of strange people to look at, and he got to hand the papers to the registrar. She chatted with him. He swaggered some more.
Cosco. The crowning glory. Inexplicably full of samples early in the day. Even dropping the free smoothie didn't dampen his mood though they dampened his clothing. We chatted and chatted and he thought up a menu for the household. A very alarming man with one bulging eye handed him a small American flag while we were in line. He thanked the man and self-consciously waved it slightly while I payed.
In the van, I asked him if he had had a nice day with me. He answered in an uncharacteristically shy voice, "This was the best day ever because for my whole life I have always wanted one of these flags!"
I choose to believe that the flag, in the grand tradition of flags, represented something more- and even if it didn't, there is nothing more precious than a 6 year old day.
.
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