Today, Baker got his heart hurt....
“You can’t sit here. There’s not enough room.”
While I’m certain it’s not the first time he’s been treated unfairly by other kids who are also learning to balance life and ego and social behaviors...it’s the first time he’s ever noticed it.
And...after 35 years of life (short...nerdy...free-spirited...square peg...L-I-F-E), 16 of which have been spent as an educator...I can say with certainty, this first will ABSOLUTELY not be the last.
I had to operate counter to my instinct... the instinct with teeth and claws. I think as parents and protectors we spend times like these thinking of ways to defend our own and get back at the ones who caused the pain.
Instead, we identified the feeling and thought of ways to respond if Baker ever sees anyone else experiencing the same social stress. Rather than remaining the victim, he feels empowered to be someone else’s hero. In Baker’s words, “I can use my experience as a shield for someone else who might go through the same thing, but they won’t have to feel any pain from it.”
May we all learn from our hard moments, how to bless the lives of those around us.
