Not a Little Nightmare

I need to be honest about the fact that I'm proud my son isn't very loud. I know this could change--I almost know it will--but I'm so happy that he's typically not a little nightmare. I don't usually want to bolt out of stores to save myself from the stares of fellow patrons. But this doesn't mean Isaac is perfect in public.

Yesterday, a bunch of the girls decided to go to Uniontown, Pennsylvania--so we could go to the Gabe's there. If you don't know about Gabe's, you don't live around here:). Anyway, I woke Isaac an hour into nap #1 (his morning naps are about 2 1/2 hours long) and didn't feed him much food before hauling him into another state with my friends. He didn't like it by the end of the adventure.

He cried bitter tears when I took him away from a ball in the store and he cried again when I picked him up after letting him roam for a while. I'd pushed him too far, and I realized what a perfect little life I create for him ordinarily. My friends take their kids on outings that don't perfectly coincide with nap-time, and I know it's worth it sometimes. I'm just surprised to see my little one lose it.

And today... we went to visit our elderly neighbor and then I let Isaac play in the snow for a while. He was SSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy! But his little nose and hands got red and it was chilly, so I finally decided we needed to go back home. The tragedy, let me tell you, was almost too much for my little Isaac.

He wailed as we left and I just completely empathised with him as I kept carrying him back home. I knew it was hard for him to leave his lovely freedom, to stop running up and down driveways, leaving marks in the snow with his shoes and ungloved hands. I knew it hurt to say goodbye to what he loved.

I love his happy, eager, delighted behavior and his tender feelings. I love my little bird-watcher. I love how excited he is to help me put his socks and shoes on. How he sifts through the pages of his books. He isn't JUST a little boy; he's one of my best friends.