When I was little, I talked to anyone who'd listen. From my teenage sisters' friends on the phone to random strangers at a campground pool, I found any demographic was perfect when it came to being my target audience.Today, I took my soon-to-be kindergartner out for a special mommy and me afternoon. He chose his favorite burger joint for lunch and then we went out looking for new school clothes and shoes. As I stood in line to order my salad (no dressing, of course) and his chicken, I sent Jacob over to save us the very last open table. He walked over with such a skip in his step, proud to be out on the town with mom and no younger siblings. My heart swelled and I got teary-eyed for the 47th time this week. (Just you wait for the blubbery kindergarten post next week.)
As I waited my turn, I watched him begin to engage a table with two women, obviously on their lunch break from work. It was like looking in a mirror as I heard him ask, "what's your name?"
When I returned to the table, the ladies said, "well hello, Jackie."
Ah, I see he told them my name.
One of the women giggled as she shared with me how he introduced himself, explaining that he has one brother and one sister and his last name is MacD. When the woman asked him, "is that Scottish?" he said, "no, it's Jacob."
We've had the "strangers" talk before. I do worry about him being overly friendly but I also don't want to scare him into thinking everyone is bad. Plus, this is my kid who's been getting services for social delays -- this new behavior rocks, in my opinion! I do make him aware that it's only ok to talk with people like that when Mommy and Daddy are present. That way, we're there to make sure he's safe and the person he's talking to is a good one. But when I sat down and he began to explain to the ladies that he really wants another little brother? Yeah, I put the kibbosh on that conversation right quick, firmly instructing him to eat his nuggets and be quiet.
