The Message of Love

Tonight, Ian mentioned to me a lad from his kindergarten class. I have heard the name before - one of those awful Cowboy names resurrected from The Museum of Kitsch for 21st century white suburbanites - but I had never heard Ian say much about the boy. But tonight he had much to say.

"Butch" - let's call him - told Ian that he doesn't like him. It gets worse: "He said that's why he didn't invite me to his birthday party - because he doesn't like me."

But apparently not everybody takes things the same way...

Ian went on in some detail about wanting to be friends with Butch and have him over. I tried to tell him that he would be better off not thinking much about people that feel that way about him, and focusing on people who are nice to him. But Ian pointed out, "Aren't we supposed to love our enemies?"

I conceded the point without any further dispute.

[He also explained that not wanting to be friends with someone is kind-of like being their enemy...]

Ian went on to ask me if he is going to have Russian School this summer. I broke the news to him that there will be no Russian School in the summer, which he seemed to take rather well. And it helped him crystallize his plans.

Ian wants to invite Butch to our house this summer - "the first Saturday Summer" - I think was the phrase. Why Saturday? Well, after asking about Russian School, Ian asked me if I work during the summer. I told him I do. But there's always a solution: Ian will invite Butch to our house on a Saturday in the summer, to ensure that I'm home during Butch's visit. And he wanted me to immediately commence writing out a formal invitation for Butch, which I consistently deferred until such time as I can discuss the matter with Mommy. [And delay, and obfuscate, and hopefully wait for the lad to move on to a new project...]

But most moving was the fact that it was important that I be home. Why was I needed? Ian wanted me to read the Ten Commandments to Butch, so that the boy can learn that we're supposed to love each other.

I found out from Amy that he had discussed the entire proposition with her as well, including the element of Daddy reading the Ten Commandments.

(April 12, 2010)