We all have our moments
when we embarrass ourselves 
with our temper, or irrational arguments.
The little guy went through this 
in a loud and rude way in the park today,
when it was time to leave.
I was on the verge of
showing my worst side as well.

Then tonight–bedtime–the most
stressful time of day for everyone;  
I had just gotten him
out of the shower, and he was
standing naked at the top of the stairs
as the front door opened.
I quickly wrapped him in a towel.

Mom and her dinner friends looked up,
laughed, and said hello.
Mom took the baby downstairs. 
She introduced her friends to us
from the bottom landing,  holding the little girl in PJs.

The little guy lost no time in introducing his little sister. 
“This is my friend G—–.”  They laughed and said Hi.
With all seriousness, he continued.  “And this is
my other friend,  Grandma Mary.”

They all laughed, 
but I was so proud of him!
I immediately looked into his scrubbed face,
wild, wet hair and open brown eyes, and 
told him what a beautiful introduction that was.
It was perfect!

He’s like a changeling with
incomprehensible emotional meltdowns, 
then the most sensitive,  hilarious jokes 
that play off something we teased about last week.
This boy will grow into a well-mannered, thoughtful adult. 
Either that,  or a bad-tempered lout with childish tendencies. 
The jury’s still out.