I guess maybe he really is listening

You know how you tell your kids things over and over and sometimes wonder if they really are getting it? Then they do something that just shocks you and you're like "hey, maybe they are getting it afterall!" I had that moment last night.


Tyrus' class is learning about rocks and minerals at school next week. His teachers sent a note home the other day asking for each student to bring in one medium sized rock, or more if they had more. They are going to be painting the rocks to look like lady bugs.

Last night, I sent Tyrus outside to find a few rocks that might fit the requirements. He came in a bit later with two rocks. He had an odd look on his face and then says to me, "Mom, I feel nervous about this." I said, "why?" And he says, "because these rocks don't belong to us - they belong to the complex. I feel nervous taking them." I then said, "I think the word you want is 'guilty.' When we take stuff that isn't ours, we feel guilt."

He agreed that he was feeling guilt and I asked him if I talked to the office ladies today would it make him feel better? He said it would, so I talked to the lady today and told her the whole story. She said it would be more than fine to take a rock or two for his class project. When he got in the car I told him that it was okay to take a rock. He then says, "only one rock?"

Anyway, I was proud of him. It never occured to me that taking a rock from the front of our rental townhouse was stealing, but he was right, it was. I was happy that he felt that and didn't think it was okay.

Spaghetti Wars

A funny story: The other night over spaghetti, Tyrus in his grown-up sounding voice corrected Alexis by saying "Alexis, it's not MUH-skettie, it's BUH-skettie."