Monday, September 13, 2010

All In Due Time

09.13.2010

Rob came home last night and told me about his experience at a friend’s house while watching the football game. An 8-year old boy was left with the group while his mother and friend went out for the afternoon. As you can imagine, an 8-year old in a room filled with “old” men doesn’t exactly mean tons of fun for a kid.

Eventually, Rob overheard the boy feeling bad about the way things were going and decided to ask the kid about a video game that he was playing earlier. The fact that the video game was Star Wars made them instantly connect. Within minutes, the boy was buddying up to Rob and asking a bunch of questions about the game and how to play it, and Rob said he felt so good to be able to calm this kid down and be able to relate to him. I observed Rob tell this story and, like what I’ve noticed over time, his (Rob’s) behavior towards kids has greatly altered…it’s become warmer and more inviting.

The clincher to this story was that, at one point, the boy turned to him and asked if he’d be spending the night to which Rob replied, “No.” The boy then grew a long and sad face which, Rob said, tugged at his heart…he didn’t like seeing the boy disappointed.

....There are several things at play here for me. First, I’m lucky to have a husband who isn’t closed off to the idea of having kids. If anything, he’s just waiting for the green light from me. Secondly, I’m lucky to have a husband who makes it a point to try and relate to kids on some level so that he/she doesn’t feel out of place or awkward. And third, I’m lucky to know that if we have a kid, he/she is going to have an amazing dad.

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