Being Sensitive

As most everyone knows, it has been raining a ton here in Kansas. Last week, we went to the park after a day of rain. The woodchips under the playground were very waterlogged and messy. The sandbox was completely full of water. It was awful.

What was worse was that someone left a little baby doll at the park on the ground, missing an arm. I moved the sopping-wet doll to the bench to dry out and hoped the owner might return for it.

As we were leaving, some Jr. High kids came into the park to play. A boy took the doll by a leg and started making sarcastic comments like, "Anyone want to play with a doll? Haha!" He then went on to take the doll to the "pool" of a sandbox and flung the doll into the water with great gusto.

Judah watched the whole thing with shock. I didn't really think anything of it until bedtime many hours later. We went on about our walk and the rest of our night.

Then, Judah and I began talking at bedtime about the day. He was stuck on the baby doll being flung into the water. He was really upset about it. I could see the worry and pain in his eyes in thinking about the well-being of the baby doll after it had been thrown so thoughtlessly. It pained me to see him so worried and upset about the doll. So, I drove (in the dark) to the park and "rescued" the baby doll from the water. I also retrived the doll's arm from the water.

I got home and Judah was still awake. So, I talked to him about the doll. I told him that mommy had taken care of the doll and it was downstairs ready for mommy to clean. He seemed instantly relieved that the doll was no longer in distress.

This morning, I fixed the doll's arm and found some clothes for it. I asked Judah what the baby's name was, and he seemed indecisive. He started by saying, "Mommy. Daddy." Then he said, "Mitch." I have no idea where he got that, but that's what he said. After lunch, he kept going back and forth between "Mitch" and "Rich." We'll see later what he finally settles on.

This is Judah cuddling with the baby (and Monkey). He really enjoys taking care of the baby.

I love seeing Judah's care and concern for a "baby" that he thought was in distress. I know it won't last, but I enjoy seeing such wonderful innocence from him now.