Tuesdays and Thursdays are library days for Jacob and I. It’s Story Time with Miss Vanessa. Jake is very friendly to everyone. Very touchy, huggie, sweet little fellow ~ most grown-ups find it charming...but some little girls just don't like it.
There is one little girl in attendance each week that wants nothing whatsoever to do with Jacob's friendliness. If he smiles at her, she complains, 'Mommy he's looking at me!'. If he touches her shoulder – (and he does this to just about any child he goes up and talks to) -- she yells, "Mommy he's touching me!"
In a way, I applaud the little girl for loudly and clearly protecting her space. But it’s difficult to explain to Jacob that some people just don’t appreciate ones friendliness.
The little girl’s mother said last week, "She has issues." Today her mom said to me, "He's fine, she's just like that. I don't know what's wrong with her."
I told the mom, I really didn't think anything was 'wrong with her', that someday that attitude might serve her well.
But it is all very confusing in the early stages of life, isn't it? All the 'having my space stuff'.
I do think that Jacob does not have an awareness of any ones *space*. It's all his space after all, and you just happen to be in it!
But he's like a doctor; he means no harm. He looks people in the eye when they talk to him, if he has met you once before, he’s liable to put his arms around you while you are talking to him, he's just that socially comfortable.
I told the mom of Miss Don't-Look-at-Me that both her daughter and Jacob have something to learn. These two just happen to be the extremes of all the Respect My Space problems in the world (and there’s no *we* in My Space). Perhaps they can learn much from each other. Such cute little grasshoppers they are. Maybe they will grow up and get married.
It is difficult having Jacob over at my house right now because everything is not neatly put away and organized enough for a two year old to just boldly go from room to room. And he’s a boy explorer who needs to learn about *space*…and because it was raining outside today and our park plans were squashed, all playing space was limited, and Madam Blueberry was trying to concentrate on her math, I decided to take Jacob home an hour early and finish out our play there.
On the way home, just in conversation, I asked him if he was happy. He said, “No.”
I asked him why.
He said, “I’m mad at you.”
“At me?” I said, “Why is that?”
He said, “Because you are taking me home.”
Silly as this may sound, this made me smile. Only because I was wondering, did he like me and want to be with me for 5 hours every day. I think his little bit of anger answered my question.
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