Blane's Bad Day

On Friday, I went to a preschool playgroup at church. Blane knew most of the kids and was excited to play with his friends.

We moms were standing around talking when suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a look on Blane's face. The frowny-face, about-to-cry-but-trying-desparately-not-to face. He had been playing with cars very nicely with his friend Grace up to this point. He ran over to my leg and buried his head in it, bursting into tears.

I took him out of the room. "Blane," I said, "what happened?"

He cried for a little while and then managed to sob out the word, "Grace..."

I could not get out of him what exactly happened or what Grace did. I guessed that probably she took his car, but he was too inconsolable to tell me which one. Before long, Grace ran off to play with something else.

(It's always awkward when one of your friend's kids does something to yours. Grace has always been sweet to the Blane in the past. But, they're kids, and things happen...it's not like my kids haven't been grabby before.)

You would think that Grace running off to play with something else would solve the problem. But, you would be wrong.

He just wanted to pout and be sad. Nothing looked fun. I saw him about 10 minutes later slumped in a chair in the play kitchen table, looking like a Dust Bowl mother. The sorrow and isolation continued for half an hour until it was time to go home.

"Mom, I'm having a bad day," he said as we went out to the car.

Apparently, this incident really cut his feelings. I explained that sometimes we have bad days sometimes, but that it gets better.

"Sometimes, girls don't share?" he asked, in that unique way Blane has of confirming great truths of the universe by phrasing them in a question to me.

"Sometimes they don't. Sometimes our friends don't act right, and I'm sorry you are sad. I'm sure it will be better the next time you play. If she takes something, then just come tell me what happened, and we will make sure that everyone plays right."

He was sad all the way home. I asked him if watching a "3-2-1 Penguins" episode would help. He said it would. And it worked.