The Greatest Things...

One of the greatest things that a mother can hear is when someone compliments her children and their behavior.

I took Gabriel and Jo to a birthday party on Saturday.  I didn't know the mom or the child that well.  There are actually 3 kids in the family.  One girl who is younger than Gabriel, the birthday boy who is aged between Jo and Gabriel, and his older brother, who is older than Jo.   Jo and Gabriel really love playing with the boys at the gym, so when we got the invite, I decided to go ahead and take them to the party.

I mean, after all, Jo and Gabriel are home schooled and so must get the 'socialization training' from somewhere, right?

I saw them into the house, checked things out a bit and then got in the car and sat there reading my book.

When it was time to go, I went back in to collect them, and the mother was literally gushing about the kids and their behavior.

First, I checked behind me to see if she was talking to another mom who might have walked in behind me to pick up their kids, but once I realized that she was really talking to me, I tuned in to what she was saying:

Your kids are so well behaved!  Jo is just amazing.  She got along so well with all of the kids here and really helped everyone play together nicely.  I was kind of worried since the kids were all such different ages, but she managed to pull everyone together so well!  And Gabriel was so well mannered!  He is so cute when he says please and thank you.  It was wonderful to have them here.  They really seemed to enjoy the playroom, and Jo was really into the store I set up down there.  I would love to have them come and play with us again!

(They obviously have better social skills that their mother, who is painfully out of place in social gatherings like that!)

Anyway, that plus the fact that Hazel Grace now weighs 3 pounds, 7 ounces and is holding steady on her ventilator rates just made my weekend!

How was yours?