great job

my little bookworm assures me the
airplane is ok - it's up in the sky!

john has always given lots of positive feedback to us inept grownups in his life. when i changed his diaper on the glacier-sightseeing boat in alaska, for example, as soon as i was finished he shouted, "great job changing john's diaper, mommy! great job!"

and if he comes into a public restroom with me, after he sings "mommy on the potty" while i pee, he will cheer after i flush, saying, "good job, mommy, you did it!"

i've always found that characteristic of my little sunshiney fellow to be particularly endearing, and now i am noticing something else cool - when he feels a little uncomfortable, he calms himself down by offering positive words to the people around him.

the past two nights in the bath, he's been ok lying down on his back for me to rinse his hair, even though he doesn't love it and you can tell he's fighting hard to keep his cool. tuesday night, through clenched teeth and tightly closed eyes, he was saying, "great job, mommy! you're doing great washing john's hair! great job! great job!"

and last night, it was "you're almost done, mommy! almost done, good mommy!"

and you can see through his facade that he's trying SO HARD to keep his cool. that by saying nice things to mommy, he's resisting his own fear. and even though he doesn't understand it right now, i want to tell him what an awesome coping mechanism that is. that if he keeps sing-songing against his fear, he is going to do awesome in this world. that the power of a few sweet words against fear is so amazing ...

i won't tell him that now. but i will say thank you every time he tells me i'm doing a "great job."