#276 that he behaved

So two weeks ago, 5 was a Bear at his gymnastics class.  I’m talking climbing the walls, bouncing on everything that was not to be bounced, wiggling all over the room, not listening to ANYthing the teacher said, cutting line, poking other kids….you get the idea.  It was so bad I almost went down from the balcony where the parents sit to yank him out of there.  When I gathered him up from young teacher after class, I said, “Miss A, we will certainly have a chat about paying attention and following directions when we get in the car and we will do better next week.”

He burst into tears.  Did I mention he’s super sensitive?

He screamed and cried the whole way home that he hated gymnastics and would never go back.  This kicking my seat and yanking off the seat belt and saying he HATES me, etc. is really his way of saying, “Oh my.  I’m ashamed that I was a little shit.  And embarrassed at myself.  And don’t know how to handle this.”

We didn’t talk about it again. And we skipped class last week to go watch his brothers get their yellow belts in karate.

So.  Tonight I watch from the balcony as he sits still as a soldier.  With his eyes on his teacher’s face almost the entire time.  She uses him twice as an example to show other kids how to do some little gymnastics thing.  And every 5 seconds he looks up for me in the balcony and either blows me a kiss or gives me a thumbs up or shouts out, “I’m being GOOD!”

He got two stamps on his hands at the door for his grueling effort, and got to play video games on the way home in the car – a Super Treat.  And gum.

Sometimes it’s the little things that make my day seem better.