260. The Water Is There
When my grandson Daniel was three and a half years old, I stood outside a shopping center with him. I was holding his cousin Kyle while their mothers were still in the store. There was a puddle of water and Daniel started to jump in it. I said, “No Daniel, you may not jump in the water.” He quickly and vehemently said, “I can jump in the water. You can’t tell me what to do. Mama tells me.” I said, ‘I can tell you, and if you jump in the water, I will pick you up. (Hard to say how I would have done that, since I was holding Kyle.)
Daniel stood there defiantly and said, “I can walk in the water!” I said, “No—if you walk in the water, I will pick you up.” He continued to stand at the edge of the water, thinking. Finally he said, “I can walk around the water.” And I said, “You sure can—what a good idea. You lead the way around the water, and Kyle and I will follow you.” And we walked around the water.
I think it’s great how he kept working at alternatives until he finally found something that would work.
