Day 252
I did not see my younger son all day today. My husband took him to school, brought him home, and then dropped him off at soccer practice. I picked him up on my way home from work. I was bursting with my usual questions. How was school? What did you do at recess? What happened that was fun today? Did you get your homework done? Typical of most kids his age, so I hear, he is not usually thrilled to answer me. And actually he is much more cooperative with my interrogations than my older soon to be twelve year old son. But still, I am aware that the questions come from my need/desire to know, not not his need to share.
Today I made the decision to be quiet. With every ounce of restraint I could muster, we drove home from soccer in almost complete silence. Aside from my obligatory question “Did you have fun at practice?” and my occasional musings about the Christmas lights we passed, I kept my questions and comments to my self.
I was quite proud of myself, and thought this was a fine act of kindness. Alas, when I asked my son what he thought, he hadn't noticed. Kindness, however, is not always judged what one does. Sometimes it's what one doesn't do.
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