Those of you that know our family of 5, probably have a soft spot for our middle child. Mostly because my other two are shy, and don't allow many visitors into their sacred inner circles. But Dominic, sweet Dominic, embraces who he is and everything he has to say. Which is A LOT!
Dominic has worked his way into hearts because he loves hard, and feels deeply. He gives all of himself to every emotion. It is what we cherish about him most and also what we fear. He will fall hard and loose even harder. He will have many broken hearts, and a lot of people will let him down. But what is best about Dominic is he still loves. He forgives, he believes, he feels, he hurts, he cries, he laughs, every emotion is there right on the surface ready to be shared with those lucky enough to be in his presence.
But the very best part of Dominic is his mind. He is always thinking, asking questions, navigating his day by vocalizing every step of it. He speaks his actions, every one, out loud. So when, without prompting, in the middle of a long hot day of Chinese tourism Dominic offered this little gem, "I have to always say what I am thinking because I feel like if I don't there will be a traffic jam of words in my brain." we weren't surprised. Mostly just floored that he could use such a great analogy to vocalize his feelings.
Most of the time we roll our eyes, and throw out a lot of "uh huh's" in Dominic's direction because the talking can be insanely tedious. But this statement caught my attention and really pushed my previous parenting tactic of, lets be honest...ignoring half of what he says, to the side. Because no one likes a traffic jam, whether they are driving or in the passenger seat. I realized I would much rather encourage a clear pathway for Dominic to express himself now, open up the lines of communication when the conversations are "why do Zombies eat brains and not hearts?" and "Mom, did you know God is eating at that McDonalds and sitting next to you in the car, He is all around us", so when the conversations turn to the inevitable heartbreak, he knows that I am listening. He knows that I am with him, I am the tow truck clearing the road, or the passenger sitting beside him complaining about how much traffic jams really do suck.
Most of the time we roll our eyes, and throw out a lot of "uh huh's" in Dominic's direction because the talking can be insanely tedious. But this statement caught my attention and really pushed my previous parenting tactic of, lets be honest...ignoring half of what he says, to the side. Because no one likes a traffic jam, whether they are driving or in the passenger seat. I realized I would much rather encourage a clear pathway for Dominic to express himself now, open up the lines of communication when the conversations are "why do Zombies eat brains and not hearts?" and "Mom, did you know God is eating at that McDonalds and sitting next to you in the car, He is all around us", so when the conversations turn to the inevitable heartbreak, he knows that I am listening. He knows that I am with him, I am the tow truck clearing the road, or the passenger sitting beside him complaining about how much traffic jams really do suck.
