Kids just want to be heard...

Tonight I brought Logan, Caden, & Ethan to Chick-fil-a. (Dylan spent the night with a friend.) Of course Chick-fil-a was my idea, but I made them think they thought it up all on their own. When we got there, Logan told me what he wanted, and then all the boys headed to play while I ordered their food. After I had the table set up with their food all set out, I went in the room-o-fun and told them to all come eat.

All the boys sat down, and started eating. Logan was looking at the ketchup on the table and said, "hey, I wanted barbecue sauce." I told him that he didn't tell me that, but he could go get some at the front. He agreed and headed to the counter to make his request. At this point, I was trying to convince Ethan to sit down and eat instead of run around the restaurant which is not an easy thing for a 3 year old to understand. After a few minutes, I realized Logan wasn't back at the table yet, but I glanced up at the front and saw he was still waiting up there. It wasn't very busy up there, but I figured he must be making some outrageous request or something. After he had been up there about 7 or 8 minutes, I told Caden and Ethan to keep eating and I was going to check on Logan. Ethan, of course got up and chased after me. I told him to go sit back down, but I was mostly focusing on Logan. I had almost made my way to him, when I saw he was talking to the guy at the counter, so I turned around and headed back to the table. I didn't want him to think that I was checking on him, because he's very independent and I know he can handle getting barbecue sauce alone.

He finally made it back to the table and blurts out, "Why do adults not help kids?" I asked him why he thought that was true and he proceeded to tell me why he had been at the counter so long. He said he had gotten up there and there was one person in front of him. While he was waiting patiently behind them, a few others got in line behind him. When it was his turn at the counter, the person behind him spoke up and said, "Hey, I just need a refill please." After this, the person behind that person said, "Oh, me too." So, the guy at the counter ignored Logan and got the 2 refills. The next person in line had moved up close to Logan at this point, and then they just started ordering. Logan just stood there, of course annoyed, but patiently waiting for his barbecue sauce. After that person had ordered, the guy at the counter finally asked Logan what he needed. Logan replied, "I just need 3 barbecue sauces please." He was handed his sauce, and sent on his way. This is when he came back to the table and asked the question, "Why don't adults help kids?"

It made me realize that he's probably right. I didn't really know how to answer him at that point. I could have said, "Well, why are you mean to your brothers?" or "Why are you so bossy?", but I figured this wasn't the time to reprimand him. I told him that I didn't know why the guy didn't help him since he was next in line, but maybe the guy didn't see him. Logan said, "Oh no-he saw me. He was just helping other people instead of me, just because I'm a kid." The sad part is that he's probably right. I wish I had a better answer for him, but I just told him that he should remember this moment, and when he's older and a kid needs help, he will help him, because he'll have stored this trip to Chick-fil-a in his memory bank. He'll remember what it was like to be ignored as a kid, and he'll help kids when he's older because of it.

Logan asked me several times throughout the evening why the guy didn't help him. I never gave him the answer he wanted I guess.

On another note, I saw Dr. Gunter there, who is the doctor at the school. He was with his wife and 3 kids. When I was getting the boys from the playground, she said to me, "So you have 3 boys?" At this point I was thinking, "man, do I really look like I could have 3 kids? or a 9 year old??" Instead I said, "Oh no, they aren't my boys. I'm just watching them while their parents are out of town." Now I realize I am old enough to have a 9 year old, and 3 kids-or more-but, I just don't think of myself as a mother yet.