Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Please, Enjoy My Child

I love watching people interact with my son. Have I said that before? I've probably said it multiple times, but I'll say it again: I love watching people play with my son. 

There's something about seeing people smile, laugh, and play with Shane that strikes a chord with me and reminds me what a gift he is. 


When it's the two of us, it's easy to get tired or to find myself in a feedback loop: Shane does something wrong and I correct him. He's always going to do something wrong, too, because he's a three year old! That's how it works! I try to be careful and pick my battles, but when it's only the two of us he clearly looks at me sometimes before embarking on mischief. 

However, when Shane is playing with someone else I can fade back a little. I can enjoy watching him play and someone else play with him without always being "the dad." It helps that I can be my normal ADHD self, too. I can run in, be high energy, and then scoot off to recuperate until I'm ready to run in again!


It's ironic, because I've always viewed myself as a "doer" over a "watcher." Yet here I am, enjoying being able to step back and watch Shane's swim teacher try to herd him like a cat or watch him try to wrestle with Pop. 

If you're kind to my son, you're kind to me. I hope I always communicate my appreciation of it.

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