Tuesday, December 6, 2011

"Do You Want to Hold Hands?!?!"

There's a little joke in our family that's been going around since Sadie's two year well baby checkup, when she cried when the doctor came in the room and he suggested that we put her in day care because she was clearly a shrinking violet.  He didn't believe that she could possibly remember the monthly appointments she'd had for ear infections for the first eighteen months of her life, which had pretty much convinced her that crossing the threshold of that office was the worst idea imaginable.  And so, whenever Sadie does something ridiculously extroverted, which is pretty frequent, there's often a comment from one family member or another about how it's a shame she's so shy.  It's not unusual for her to greet every preschooler we walk by, with an outgoing "Hi!" and she labels anyone who's about her size "friend!"  Occasionally, if she sees a little girl wearing pink she has to ask: "Are you a princess ballerina?"  

The latest event has had my mom and I laughing on and off for the last few days.  Nani and Grumpa were visiting this past week, and while they were here we took the girls to the zoo.  While walking by the alligators, Sadie, who was a little nervous despite the double fence, announced that she wouldn't be looking at the alligators because she "didn't want to worry about it."  The day before we'd gone for a drive down Alligator Alley and I think she may have realized that the 26 alligators I counted from the car as we drove, live rather close to our current home.

As she ignored the alligators, so she wouldn't "worry about it" a mom with three very cute little boys walked by.  I'd guess that they were 2, 4 and 6.  Sadie, instantly smiled and said "Hi Guys!"  The little boys eyed her nervously (with good reason apparently, our biggest challenge has been explaining boundaries and having the concept stick, since Sadie still thinks everyone wants a hug or to hold hands since she thinks those are two of the greatest things ever...).  The next thing I knew she walked over and reached for the hand of the oldest boy, while saying: "Do you want to hold hands?!?!" in a little sing song voice, while he looked horrified by the idea and all the adults present tried not to laugh.  We managed to wrangle Sadie back over by the alligators, so the family could escape.

Poor Daddy didn't quite think the story was as humorous as I did.  I think he's already beginning to imagine the teenage years and I think he may already be wishing she were a little less extroverted!

6 comments:

  1. Too bad Sadie isn't very "social". ;) ;) ;)

    Marie

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  2. LOL. Kids are so much smarter, indeed brilliant, than adults give them credit.

    Oh, yeah, she's really shy! 9_9

    Tell daddy not to worry. It is so beautiful that childhood innocence when everyone can be friends and hold hands and everyone wants and needs a hug. All that world peace people want is found in the innocence of a little child.

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  3. My Ella is exactly the same. Every little person is her friend and she gets so sad when they won't talk to her.

    People's first question when they find out we homeschool is about socialization. I'm like 'have you MET Ella?' It's the public school kids that need better socialization :)

    If Sadie is like Ella she will start to pull back her friendliness. I think Ella is starting to realize 'strangers' and is getting a bit shy around them. Which can be a good thing too.

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  4. She would love my son! He's a year old and absolutely loves anyone he meets. Unfortunately, he also has a thing for girls in pretty dresses which isn't unfortunate in and of itself, except that he is in the peek-a-boo stage. :-/ We're working on that though! In the store, he has un-clipped his belt and climbed out of his cart (with me watching closely) to climb into a cart next to a little girl or boy. I think its wonderful and will continue to encourage his friendliness. Too bad we don't live closer, I think they could be best friends!

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  5. When I saw the title of this post, I thought it was going to be about holding hands during the Lord's Prayer at Mass. (Which I can totally relate to, that really irritates me). A sweet Sadie story was a delightful surprise. The innocence of children is just beautiful.

    ~Jenny

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  6. LOL, My son is 2 and deathly afraid of Dr.s, but we are not really sure why. He is pretty scared off all strangers and even relatives if it has been more than a week since he had seen them. (He is more comfortable in his own environment), but never have I had a dr. tell us that he needed more socialization/daycare because he was scared of the doctor. He does however, like other little kids his size and likes to chase after them or just have them around when he plays. Otherwise he is a very independent player and gets upset when his little brother tries to play with him (or take his toys or destroy everything around him).

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