Making Introductions

Posted by Breeze on Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Category: Breeze

It all started at kindergarten round-up. Tulip was too nervous to enjoy herself as much as we had hoped, but Smiley was in his element. The round-up was, of course, geared toward the rising kindergarten student, so Tulip was given a passport with pages for each of the areas she was supposed to explore. She toured classrooms, the gym, the cafeteria, the art room, the music room, the guidance classroom, and the nurse’s station, earning a stamp at each stop. Everyone was very nice, and after she got warmed up she seemed to have a bit more fun, but it was slow going.

Smiley, on the other hand, figured out a few rooms into the experience that he was being left out, and he didn’t like it a bit. Sure, they let the whole family into the rooms, and we all got to play with the toys and sit on the story time rugs, but did anyone introduce him? No! How rude! What was a boy to do? He was going to need to introduce himself, obviously, and so he did. At every opportunity, he would wait patiently until Lennie and the teacher had exchanged names and then interject, “And my name Binny!” The little guy can’t say his Fs yet, but he still wants in on the fun.

The introductions have continued in the weeks since the round-up. At Blockbuster, I had to say my name so that my account could be looked up, and he took that as his cue to begin introducing not just himself, but me as well. “That’s my momma!” he declared in his most earnest voice. I translated for the man who was checking us out. “That’s my momma, and my name Binny!” he continued. I translated. “That’s my momma. My name Binny, and I’m pooting!” he decided to share. At this point Tulip was cracking up, since she understood him perfectly, but the movie guy was looking at me expectantly for the translation. I told Smiley that we typically don’t tell complete strangers when we poot, so I guess the man got all the explanation he wanted.

Smiley’s undaunted approach to strangers has made me struggle to figure out if my surprise (and amusement) with this trait is a result of how different he and nearly-5-year-old Tulip are or if 2-year-old Tulip was this outgoing. I remember thinking she was fairly outgoing and being amazed by everything about her personality, but I can’t take a step back and compare my two 2-year-olds. Tulip’s almost-5 is too all-consuming to allow more than glimpses of 2-year-old Tulip. I really wish I hadn’t been so overwhelmed by her then and had taken the time to jot down more reminders for myself.