Then you have these moments where the little teach the big volumes.
So Kody is approached by a cute little girl who playfully asks him his name. I was surprised when he responds with a mumble. (He's usually so responsive to this approach.) This happens a few times until she eventually gives up. A few minutes later, I'm alone with him. I could tell he wanted to play with her.
"You gotta look her in the eye and tell her your name Bud. Otherwise, she'll think you don't like her. You like her though, right?"
"Oh. Yeah." So he runs back to her and tries to announce his name over giggling and playful swinging on this mass swing-boat thing. It doesn't work. I yank him back.
"No Bud. Try this: Just hang out around her, and if she says anything else to you, just be ready this time and tell her your name."
So he did. He went back, got right in the middle of things, worked the proximity, but she wandered off before our big moment.
One thing leads to another he winds up in the swing-boat with another girl. I figure this is good for him and push until they're both laughing and giggling happily.
She comes back.
He's giddy, but dumbstruck. He really is different with this girl. I swear, it's too funny to watch.
But he's getting nowhere. I step in again.
"Kody, give the lady a turn." He does. She promptly steps into the swing-boat. "Push her" I nudge. He does. So do two other guys.
He's never pushed another person in a swing before, but I'm impressed by how he's doing and how motivated he is to learn. I kinda quietly teach/demonstrated how to push and get out of the way.
We do this a while and it works. Some conversation is started, a little laughter is exchanged. I leave him to it until I begin to think he's hanging on to his hat too much.
"Kody, gimmie the hat. Walking around holding your hat to your head is too much. If it blows off here, it's no big deal. [He'd lost another hat on a boat in Lake George.] You're better off giving it to me to hold."
He doesn't. He expresses some kind of loss of "Kody" if the hat comes off.
"It won't make a difference. [Doesn't budge]. What's the matter? Don't you trust me?"
"No Mom. Sometimes when you do these things that means that you don't trust me."
Boing! Dumbstruck. Duh Mom. I back off. The two happily play and he later has two girls plying for his attention.
Touché my boy, touché!
What did I ever really know about women anyway!
