Master continues to experience "firsts" nearly every day. He is in the midst of that stage of exploration in which everything is fascinating. He loves to play with empty boxes, fuzz from the carpet, anything he can find in the kitchen cupboards, and any of our shoes. He stares at all of these things with such intensity, and then laughs with such enthusiasm when he finds something that he enjoys. Miss has some maracas in a toy instrument box, and Master loves to shake them, while bouncing up and down and laughing. What a joy it is to watch him explore the world around him, to learn how things work, and to grow a little bit every day.
On an Exploration
First Tennis ShoesMiss has also experienced a "first" in the past week, though it wasn't a pleasant one. While Mr. and I were gallivanting across Chicago, the Grandparents Peanut took her to play on the indoor playground at our local mall. She was having a good time, as usual, and was trying to make friends with the other kids, as usual, when she encountered her very first teasing. Apparently, some older girls repeatedly told her that she was a baby.
Miss was quite offended by this and kept trying to tell them, "No, I'm not a baby! I'm a little girl!"
The girls, however, insisted on calling her a baby, and Miss became quite upset. She sat with Grandma and told her all about the episode, and then asked to leave the playground. As soon as we returned from Chicago, Miss told me about what happened, and has continued to tell me about it each day. It is so sad to see her feeling so shocked and hurt by these girls. She is still so little, and so trusting. Up until now, she has completely believed that other kids will be friendly to her if she is nice to them. She walks up to *every* child she sees and says, "Hi! What's your name?"
But, after one episode of teasing, I now hear her saying, "Well, I like other kids *sometimes.*"
Teasing is inevitable, and I'm sure that she'll be guilty of it herself, someday. But it feels like something innocent is ending in her life, as she encounters this "first."
1 comment:
Grandad Peanut and I were so grieved to read about little Miss's first teasing. I can't even tell you how sad my heart feels that she has already had to experience the unkindness to be found in the world. I wish so much that I could give her a hug right now, but I can already see that a hug isn't always going to make everything all right! I can picture it all in my mind, and it is so hard to understand how even children, sometimes especially children, can be so mean. We love her so much, Mrs. Peanut, and all of you. It was fun to read about little Master Peanut's firsts! How thankful we are for good things in our lives! We can hardly wait to see you all, and feel you again.
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