Perception is Relative

Some weeks are harder than others to come with blog topics that a. I can write more than three sentences about and b. that I think someone might find interesting (I know, given some of the drivel I have written it is SHOCKING to think I factor in entertainment value). We have already covered the excitement of Halloween (he was a pterodactyl this year, picture to follow) so I won’t rehash that witch, goblin, and sugar filled experience again.

This week I am going to tell you about the many faces of the Mud Puddle. Depending on your point of view, “he is a delightful little boy with great manners and good work ethic who does what he is told and is a warm friendly fellow to have around”, or “the reason I was put on the earth” or “a whiny nay-sayer who drives me up a freaking wall with his sass and lack of respect”. I will tell you that the three people quoted above are the daycare director, me and my mom. You can pretty much guess who is who.

I occasionally stop to think about what other people’s perceptions are of him and for the most part he is a very well liked fellow. He is well behaved when outside our house. Inside the confines of our abode is a different matter but as long as everyone else sees him as a good guy who am I to complain?

I was reminded of his golden status at daycare this week when the director stopped to tell me how excited he had been on Halloween. Apparently she asked him to do something and he said ‘no’ (welcome to my world!). She went on to say that he never says no and always does as he is asked, in many cases leading the other kids to clean up or line up or quiet down so it came as a surprise when he said no to something. He of course quickly caught himself and did what he had been told.

My mother suggested the other night on the phone that I take a ‘normal’ four year old for an afternoon and see how much complaining I do about the Mud Puddle’s bad behavior after that. Now, this is the same woman who wouldn’t let me get away with ‘yes I did X but so and so did Y which is WAY worse’ when I was a teenager and would lay the “If so and so jumped off a bridge would you??” line on me. But now, ho ho ho, it is a completely different song sheet she is singing off of. Her shmoopsie Mud Puddle is an ANGEL compared to the other kids his age and I should recognize and appreciate how good I have it. MMHMM

I will begrudgingly admit that he is better mannered and more polite than most of the kids his age that I know. Rarely throws a full blown temper tantrum and does help out when asked. I know I am lucky to have a relatively well mannered lad but there is always room for improvement in my book.