Actions Speak Louder Than Words

I was at Turtle park earlier today with my son and I was so impressed by this short encounter that I had with an 8 year-old boy, Adam, that I have to share it.

Bruno and I were in the corner of the park by the hill with no grass, only dirt, and my son had gleefully decided that he was going to haul a Tonka truck up to the top of the hill and push it down-repeatedly. As much as Bruno was enjoying this game, he tired after about three turns and decided that he wanted to keep playing this game so he would push the truck down the hill and Mommy would fetch it while he stood at the top and watched. Of course I obliged because that's what Mommies do, but after a while I too began to tire of this game. It was unusually hot today and being 7 months pregnant makes you pretty sweaty to begin with, so marching up and down a dirty hill in the heat was not my first choice of park activities, but how could I say no to my boy?

After about my tenth trip up the dirt hill, a chatty little boy, Adam, came over to join in the fun. Adam was about 8 or 9 years old and he had chosen a nice round cement mixer to send down the hill of dirt. Adam must have seen me sigh or maybe he sensed my fatigue as I struggled up the hill yet again with Bruno's Tonka in tow, because he looked at me and said: "Mommies always have to do the most work."

I was caught so off guard by this child's poignant remark that I almost didn't answer him. "Well, I said, he (pointing to Bruno) is still so little so it's kinda hard for him to climb up the hill with the truck on his own."

Adam seemed perfectly happy with this response and went back to pushing his cement mixer down the hill as planned. Once I got to the top of the hill, Bruno threw his arms open and happily accepted the Tonka truck. Bruno turned it around and got it set up the way he wanted and before long it was sailing down the hill at top speed once again. Adam was already half way down the hill to retrieve his cement mixer by the time Bruno's Tonka came roaring onto the scene and without a word or a glance in my direction, Adam picked up his cement mixer and Bruno's Tonka and walked to the top of the hill. When he reached the top he laid the Tonka at Bruno's feet and began busily setting up his mixer for another run.

For the next twenty minutes or so Adam and Bruno played alongside each other, years apart in age, but both happy as clams with their new found hill of entertainment. Each time Adam sent his truck down, he would wait for Bruno's to arrive at the foot of the hill and he would walk the Tonka up the hill and lay it at Bruno's feet. Each time Bruno would happily clap his hands and dance around, so excited that his truck was being returned to his eager little hands.

There was something so nice and good about this child and his helpful gesture that I was amazed at his age-he couldn't have been more than 9. I feel like he really hit the nail on the head when he told me that Mommies always have to do the most work and even though he probably didn't realize how insightful his comment was at the time, it made me feel appreciated and like I was good mommy for going the extra mile at the park in the heat with my little boy.

They say that actions speak louder than words and today I experienced that. By bringing Bruno's truck up the hill along with his own, it was as if Adam was saying to me: "Hey, I realize you are tired and hot and pregnant, so let me help you out a little."

When we left the park a little while later I couldn't help but hope that one day my own little boy grows up and learns to let his own benevolent actions speak louder than his words.