Teaching Moments.

Posted on | February 21, 2013 | 10 Comments

As we stood in the line at Harris Teeter yesterday, Sully struck up a conversation with the cashier. He’s a talkative little guy, and he usually starts asking questions like, “Where do you live?” and “What’s your name?” A bit of a creeper, but his questions are harmless and typical of a curious child. As I was handing over a package of sausage, I heard him speak words that made me freeze:

“Why is your belly so big?”

I could feel a red flush rush to my face, and I said a silent prayer that the sweet, young cashier hadn’t understood what he said.

“Because I have three little boys of my own!” she replied. Though she still smiled cheerfully, I knew that his question stung. He didn’t stop there;

“But why did that make your belly get that big?”

“Because I had to grow the babies there,” she replied, a smile still on her face.

Oh. My. Gosh. In that moment, if I could have crawled in a hole and stayed there for the rest of the day, I would have. I leaned down and told Sully to hush and stop asking questions. The cashier looked at me and said, “It’s okay. He doesn’t bother me. He’s just being a kid. It’s the adults that really hurt.”

“I’m so sorry,” I stumbled. “He doesn’t really understand social boundaries yet…”

She nodded understandingly, and we finished the transaction quickly and in mostly silence.

As I got Sully in the car, I had a conversation with him. I explained to him that God made us all different and beautiful in different ways. I explained that it’s important to never comment on someone’s appearance unless you’re saying something nice and that asking questions isn’t appropriate. I tried to remind him of his feelings and how he doesn’t like it when someone hurts them. I told him that if he ever had questions, he was more than welcome to keep them to himself and ask me when we are alone, but it wasn’t nice to stare either.

He sat quietly in the back, looking out the window. When I was done talking, he turned and said,

“Mommy, I thought she was beautiful. I didn’t know it wasn’t nice to say her belly was big. She said she grew babies with it. I’m sorry I made her sad.”

And sometimes? The teaching moments come from little voices in the backseat instead of me.

It's always nice to share with your friends.

• 

Comments

"I'm a twenty-five-year old mama to two little boys and married to the love of my life. I have a serious Diet Coke addiction and a tendency to overshare. My biggest dream is to write a book. A good book that tons of people buy and relate to and love. In the mean time, this is the story of us as we flounder through raising our wild, little boys, moving a million times, and buying and renovating our 1968 Ranch home."

<br /> <a href="http://exploitsofamilitarymama.com"_blank"><img src="http://exploitsofamilitarymama.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/exploits-button1.png" border="0" alt="wp-content" /></a><center>

Exploits of a Military Mama

Archives

Select Month May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009

Need to find something?

Search for:

Feed me!

• Finding peace in tragedy.