Will They Like It?

Today Luke's class gets to bring sleeping bags and blankets and tents to school. They will spend the entire afternoon reading. (Jana said Luke has about 30 books hidden in his desk for reading today!) Luke opted to bring his firetruck "tent."

On the way to school, Luke asked me if I thought people would think it was silly that he brought a firetruck tent? I was really curious about the origin of the question, since this is the same tent he and his sister were laughing and playing in just moments before.

I could tell when we got to school that this was an issue, however. He sort of "distanced" himself from the tent for a minute or two and just watched the reaction of others. When they started saying "Cool!" and "Who's is that?" his face brightened and he went over to the tent to show everyone.

I hate that for him. You want to raise a child who is self-confident and who cares about people more than he cares about what they think. Yet, I see more and more examples of how important it really is to be liked and to have others communicate their like -- and how much it affects Luke. It reminds me of all of the days I have when I do art all day rather than risk getting hurt.

I am thankful for Luke's sweet spirit and pray that God fills him with an overwhelming knowledge of His love.

I am also thankful that Luke's classmates liked it. I would have hated to been the headline story on cnn.com. ("Father plucks the head off of mean 1st graders...")