One of life's sweet disappointments

As the weather has been getting a little nicer, we’ve been spending more time outside. Joseph LOVES being outside. He can barely think of anything else. He likes pushing his “broom” (really it’s a rake, but he calls it a broom) around the yard or down the sidewalk. Sometimes he’ll even sit for a second on the porch, but mostly he likes to climb up and down the steps. He also loves climbing on the deck or into the flowerbed. I’m pretty excited to get out of the house every once in awhile myself, but sometimes after hours of supervising his unsteady running all over the sidewalk I need to come back in the house. This is one of Joseph’s least favorite things to do lately (coming back in the house). It doesn’t matter how long we have been outside, or even if it is raining. He shakes his head back and forth and throws one if his little tantrums that are becoming more and more frequent lately. He cries “Side! Side!” (translation: “Outside! Outside!)

The other day, I decided to try and distract him from some of the same things he does over and over again. I brought out his little watering can filled with water. Joseph knows that you have to give plants “water” so that they will “grow.” He says these things, and has seen me give our houseplant (yes, we only have one right now) water. He even used to take a cup and “water” our Christmas tree last Christmas. I just wasn’t really sure how well he understood what he was doing and seeing. Well, I think he did understand (for the most part). He took his watering can and poured some water on this little flower that is growing in our flowerbed. He also poured a little on some things that might actually be weeds, but I’m not sure since this is our first spring in this house. He emptied his watering can and told me to “take it.” Then he just looked at the plants. He got really close to the flower and waited. Then he started saying, “Grow. Grow.” Tony and I told him that he needed to wait, that the plant also needed time and sunlight. We would have to be patient. He tried to repeat the word patient, but the concept was clearly lost on him (besides, this was not the first time we tried to explain the concept of patience to him). We could tell that he was expecting the flower to grow and bloom before his eyes, and he was clearly disappointed that that’s not how it worked. I of course couldn’t explain to him that I completely understood how he felt. I know what it’s like to be so excited that you wish something would grow faster so you can see how wonderful it will become, and that sometimes it’s a little boring being patient. I know that he wouldn’t understand if I tried to tell him to just enjoy the flower the way it is now. I’m not sure I always understand myself.