I finally realized that Samuel is trying to figure out relationships. He comes up to me and says: "Say: 'I'm not your mother." To which I reply: "I can't say that: I am your mother; I love being your mother!" This seemed like such a strange dialog, and he's been repeating this for weeks! Then I started to piece his thoughts together.
While reading (we just started the Little House series), he will ask again and again if one person is the mother or if someone else is the brother. With my parents here for part of the holidays, Samuel tried to figure how Grandma could be my mother and grandpa's wife -- how Aunt Mary could also be my sister. He also seems to be pondering that if a relationship exists today, it also exists tomorrow, and perhaps the next day. And then the list of people he wishes to marry extends from his brothers and sisters to me and to people he's just met.
Relationships extend to inanimate objects. Samuel just asked me if his trains could stay here at the house. "Of course," I replied. "I love the trains," he said. "They are my trains."
Samuel is blessed to have very stable relationships around him. Still, it's a lot to figure out.
3 comments:
Hi! Lovely to see a post come up.
Happy New Year to you and Samuel and your family.
Relationships can be puzzling for kids, especially as you say, if they are not stable ones. Samuel is blessed. I have big boys who cannot figure out some of our relationships. Legacy of large extended family.
It's so interesting to read about Samuel and your challenges and the way you address them and figure things out; thank you.
Growing up in the deep south (Georgia), I was amazed how folks could keep up the second cousin, once removed, etc. stuff ...
Post a Comment