Warren Stories

I just gave Warren a kiss on the ear as he lay in bed. He said, "You probably don't want to kiss my ear because my earwax tastes bad." "I bet it does; how do you know it tastes bad?" I queried. The earnestly spoken reply came, "Because I tried some once with a booger and it tasted awful."

On Friday after school Warren and I were talking, and he said, "S0-and-so said I was weird and then So-and-so-2 said I was a Fruit Loop." He was clearly offended. We talked for a while and it was a really good conversation. A few points we covered:

• When we believe the unkind things people say, we are unhappy. We don't have to believe what people say, especially if we know ourselves to be different.
• Sometimes someone else's bad behavior makes us think we can excuse our own bad behavior. I pointed out to Warren I was grateful he didn't return the unkind words.
• The "unkind" labels we are given can be helpful. For example, Warren was saying "Goo-goo gah-gah" repeatedly when this episode took place. By his own admission, that is a little strange to be doing to another big kid at school, but would be appropriate to say to his baby sister.
• We role-played cheery responses he could give if this happened again, like if someone calls him weird, "Thanks, you should try it some time!" He laughed at the silly things I came up with.
  

When my kids come to me with the "wrongs" others have done them, I try to let my first response be, "Have you forgiven them yet?" I hope that they will internalize the idea that forgiveness will bring them the comfort and healing they seek. We ended talking about Jesus and how people perceived him. I pointed out that when we return unkindness with kindness, we get the chance to be more like Jesus. (Still I was a little sad for Warren, because he is not quite your normal 6 year old and that might cause some bumps in his road. And I was extra glad that I had made really yummy cookies for snack that day.)

Warren is so into paper airplanes right now. Last week with his own money he bought a ream of paper to support this habit. He brings them home from school by the dozens. We have checked out 3 library books about them. On Friday afternoon, while the girls napped, he and I had a lesson in aerodynamics from one of the books and I loved watching Warren reason in his mind about the point to which the book was leading. As we studied the shape of wings--flat on bottom, curved on top--and read that the air traveling over and under them reaches the back of the wing at the same time, he was able to deduce that the air traveling over the wing had a further distance to go than the air traveling under the wing, and thus, must be moving faster. Then we learned that this creates greater sideways pressure under the wing, i.e. more lift. We folded a new paper airplane and he got so excited when he realized that the shape of it's wings functioned according to this principle. I am really grateful for the education I am gaining as a mother.

In the primary program today, Warren recited Matthew 16:19: I will give unto the the keys of the kingdom; that whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shalt be bound on heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
I was grateful for the opportunity memorizing this scripture gave us to talk about how our family is sealed for eternity because that sealing power to "bind in heaven" is on earth again, and availbale to all who are sealed in the temple, God's house. I also loved how he pronounced "loose" as "lose" and "loosed" as "loozed."

Speaking of "loozed," Warren "loozed" another tooth this week. He asked me with a big grin on his face, "Mom, does the tooth fairy really come and put money under my pillow, or is it you?" I said it was me. He followed up with, "Is it really you putting toys in my stocking, or does Santa?" I told him we could talk about that in his room, so we went in alone and I told him it was me. He was delighted to think that I was the one who put all those toys there. The cute thing is, I think he still believes in Santa, just acknowledges that I give him the toys, because he said, wide-eyed, "Some of the kids at my school don't believe there is a Santa." (Last time Warren lost a tooth, we were in Washington, and the tooth got lost before he could get it under his pillow. Warren wrote the saddest little note informing the tooth fairy: "I lost my tuth. Can I stil hav my dolr pleez?" (I lost my tooth. Can I still have my dollar please?)

I know I've made a lot of mistakes with Warren, especially because he spoke so well at such a young age. I often thought--and think--that he could/can do things far beyond his stage of development. Like chores. I expected him to do so many things on his own, efficiently and correctly, at a very young age. Now I'm starting over and having him empty the house recycling bin every day. It has been successful so far, with no tension between us. The more I learn to take Warren at his pace, the more I enjoy him and the more he opens his mind to me.