“Just because an animal is large, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t want kindness; however big Tigger seems to be, remember that he wants as much kindness as Roo.”
winnie the pooh/ a.a. milne
There’s nothing that fills my heart to the brim more than witnessing my grandson’s many acts of kindness. He inherited it from his dad, who is one of the most generous and giving people I know. Beej is seven years old and he’s teetering on the brink of being an almost big kid. He’s not a little kid but he’s still young. And that puts him dangerously close to the age when a kid can get snotty at times. They tend to lose that young innocence that’s so sweet. So far, Beej is as giving and kind as he has ever been.
He often shares his dessert with me or my husband. It’s interesting to see who is the grandparent of favor on any given day. (Most of the time it’s me. Not bragging. It’s just the way it is.) One day after breaking his cookie in half and giving me my share, he took a bite out of his half. My husband jokingly asked where his piece was. Beej split the remainder of his cookie in half and handed it to my husband, who began to protest. I shushed him because I knew that Beej’s gesture was sincere. Having solved that problem and ensuring his grandpa wasn’t feeling left out, he took another bite of his much smaller cookie. The piece that remained was squished between his thumb and a finger when Uncle Andy arrived home from work. Andy was unaware of anything that was going on. Beej looked at the slightly large crumble of cookie that he had left and with an almost imperceptible sigh, attempted to break it into two pieces. He set it on a napkin and placed it at his uncle’s place at the table. As Andy entered the room, Beej said, “I left you something by your plate.”
I added, “On the napkin,” sure that he would probably brush it off thinking it was a crumb. And to be fair, it was a crumb.
Andy thanked Beej for sharing his dessert, the side of his mouth twitching to hide a smile. Beej solemnly said he was welcome and asked if he was going to eat it now. He watched as his uncle ate the crumb, then asked if he liked it. Andy solemnly nodded and said he did.
He’s such a kind child. When we went to the library recently, he stepped forward to make the automatic doors open, then held out his hand motioning for me to proceed and said, “Ladies first.” My heart melted.
This is our Beej. So much like Pooh- being aware that even uncles that look and act like very large kids but are supposedly adults like dessert.
Trying to catch up!!
-Kat
Dandelion Fuzz 