Wednesday, July 11, 2007

A Hug and a Kiss

When Niko first came to live with us last October he couldn't say any words. His first response whenever he was upset was to scream and run away from everybody. It has been a challenge to help him understand that when you are upset you go to someone you love for comfort and get hugs and kisses.

I was feeling like he has overcome that tendency to run away but yesterday I am quite confident in my assumption.

After having a teary conversation while talking with a couple of family members, Niko comes running up to me and says "hug" as he stretches his little arms around my neck and pats me on the back. Then he turns my face towards his, looks me in the eyes, and says "kiss." He then plants a very big kiss on my cheek. He then looked at my face again to see if I was okay. This made me tear up even more. He wiped a tear from my cheek and then checked my face again. He then put his cheek on my cheek to wipe the tears. I was smiling because he was so sweet. He must have realized he did the job because he then climbed off my lap and went on his merry little way.

No, I don't think it is the responsibility of little kids to comfort their parents. But what a treasure it was today. Now I know he gets the whole concept of comforting. It is something I wish I had learned at the age of two.

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