Heartwarming Scene...
With all the press about bullying and knowing how mean kids can be...I have been worried about JT at school. He is the THE youngest kid in the grade 1 class and he is so much smaller than the other kids that it seems likely he will eventually be left out of games or told he is too little to play. He seems to be making lots of friends and having a great time but a mother never stops worrying. I know that adversity will only make you stronger, but as a mother, it is always hard to see your child sad or upset.
This morning while we were waiting for his teacher to take the kids to class, JT and I watched the older kids play soccer in the school yard. Some grade 3 & 4 boys were running around and having a great time. JT shed his backpack and handed me his lunchbox, and said "I'm going to play too." I nodded for him to go ahead, but inside, I assumed the boys wouldn't include him and that he would probably just head back. I struggled in my own head, trying to find a way to make this situation into a lesson about resilience, when I saw a heartwarming scene...
JT has a friend in his class named Tommy who he talks about often. Tommy is a good head taller than JT and fits in well with the older kids. That is probably why I didn't notice that he was playing soccer also. Tommy ran over to JT who was standing on the fringe of the game and asked him if he was waiting to play. When JT said yes, he grabbed onto JT and pulled him into the middle of the game. While the boys were organized into teams, JT just ran around aimlessly chasing the ball. He had no idea what he was doing and was helping no one. After a bigger boy, made a goal, the game paused for a brief moment. Just then, Tommy said, "Hey! My friend JT never got passed the ball. Can he have a turn?" At this point, I worried. But the older boys just passed JT the ball, showed him where the goal was (a place against the curb) and gave him pointers on how to shoot. They cheered him on and let him try several times. Once he seemed to get the hang of it, the game continued, but Tommy put his arm around JT's shoulders and guided him over to me. "JT's Mom, did you see JT's goal?"
Yes, I did. Thank you for reassuring me that little kids can be so very thoughtful and kind; that despite all the stories about bullying and negativity...most children are sweet and caring. That even though my little man is a little fish in a sea full of bigger ones, he will be okay. Hopefully, in the future, JT will remember how hard it was to step into a game without the assistance of a friend, and maybe one day, he will be the one to reassure a friend. I hope so.