Empathy

I've always been a helper.

From as far back as I can remember, I've always been the one people can come to when they need to vent or share their thoughts. I'm just a good listener. I have absolutely no idea where I got this crazy skill - I just have it. I've always been concerned with other people's well-being - when I ask the question, "How are you?", I really mean it. Really. There's a reason my college degree is in Psychology and my Master's is in Social Work.

Every so often in parenting magazines there's an article about how to raise an empathetic kid. These articles always pique my interest - it's one of my main goals for my kids to be understanding, kind, grateful, and empathetic. I honestly get a little freaked out at the idea of Ben or Logan being unfeeling robots (like my husband, lol).

Anyway... fast forward to the toddler play area at the mall today. The boys were running around, having a great time. Ben even initiated play with another kid who looked to be about 3 1/2 (hooray for developing social skills!). There's a big structure in the middle of the play area that they call the Kids' Clubhouse. It's about 20' square maybe, with doors on 2 sides, a tunnel on another side, and a slide on the 4th side. The area inside gets a little crowded, and all the kids inevitably run into and over each other. An older kid, 4 maybe, ran by Ben and tripped and fell on the floor. He wasn't really hurt, but he stayed there for a moment. Ben, who'd seen the whole thing, went over to the kid, squatted down with his hands on his little thighs, and said, "Are you okay?"

*melt*

It was one of my proudest moments of motherhood so far :)