Tonight my husband and son sat on the floor playing trains and talking. I overheard my son, his limitless three year old imagination flitting from one impossible scenario to the next, “Oh no, Daddy, the bridge is busted! Okay I fixed it. Your train can fly! My tow truck will move the railroad tracks. This dinosaur can ride the train, he has a ticket…” Daddy was trying to keep up with the ever-changing storyline.
I thought it was the sweetest thing ever, but my husband later reported that my son had told him to Shut Up. My husband asked where he had heard such a thing, and my son reported “Grandpa said it to Grandma.” We gently explained that people who love each other do not yell, or tell each other to shut up. Grandpa is sick and does not feel very nice right now.
I have been turning the situation over and over in my mind, a worn little pebble of worry. Was I too hard on my father? Will I hurt my mother’s feelings? Will my son really understand what tranpired? Did I do the right thing, deciding that my son can not be around my father unless I am there to supervise?
I now have my answer.
sylviasaid 