A Tale of Two Kids

Greetings y'all :

He was the best of kids , he was the worse of kids.

So I've repeatedly commented that Junior Mint is sensitive to his environment. I've seen him act the worse of the worse . I've seen him act the best of the best. He's strives to be a leader and tries to rise to the top. He was surrounded by negative influences. I've seen those same influences create havoc when he's not around. Obviously my lad was not the catalyst. He reacted anxiously and was told to ignore. Ah the old "just" ignore , hard for many adults, but what was the replacement behavior ? Its easy to see his mind is quieter now that he feels safe , but I digress ...

Yesterday we, man cub and I, played ball for about three hours and squeezed in , his lessons and rehearsal as well ( insert shameless plug for latest show we are in - " Annie"). I confess playing ball was a blast! My little guy is becoming quite coachable . He listened to my suggestions and took advice from new friends. We started with having the fields to ourselves . We discussed what to do if a team showed up for practice or a game. Well four boys showed , about Mowgli's age. They wanted to play kick ball. Now we are at a crossroads. I chose not to intervene but observe. Here is what I overheard...

Junior Mint (JM)- hey that's a nice soccer ball you guys wanna play baseball with us?
Boy #1 - no we're gonna play kickball
JM- oh ok we've been here awhile , we can give you the field .
Boy #1- no that's ok finish up with your dad, we're not in a hurry.
JM- it's ok we don't mind letting you play
Boy# 2- you've got a nice swing, what team are you on?
Boy# 3 I like your bat.
JM- I'm not on a team and thanks. We're giving you guys the field .
Boy# 1- no we just got here and it's still your turn.
JM - that means we've been here awhile and it's your turn
Boy#1 - you're really nice , wanna play kick ball with us?
JM- really ? I love kick ball ! Thanks

Then I witnessed five boys play kickball without a fuss or incident but with laughter and sportsmanship. After the others left we played more baseball until rehearsal time . Twas a smooth transition , went according to plan. Baseball, rest in car & rehydrate , then rehearsal. Oh boy rehearsal . Ok so I actually feel like I can sing and again I saw my lad being a perfect gentleman as the only boy in a gaggle of girls.

Rehearsal ended and we had time for more baseball and some basketball before I said those magic words " you earned ice cream" Seriously what else could we do? He chose a McFlurry then home for a cleaning up and good snuggle and conversation as we drifted off to dreamland. I feel pretty lucky that my progeny is still comfortable talking to me about anything on his mind. It's important for everyone to have a non-judgmental sounding board especially in these formidable years. He is responsive to guidance, not just giving him answers but gentle guidance .

As he stated "Best May Day ever"!

Thanks for reading again today. Spread the word please .