Who's This Kid and Can We Keep Him?

Cal told me (wearing shorts, a t-shirt and a ponytail) just before dinner last night that I looked “fabulous.”  Coming on the heels of full and immediate cooperation with my request to wash hands and sit down for dinner and comments like “these green beans look SO GOOD, Mommy,” I was suspicious.  Dan witnessed it all, too; and with each exhibition of wonderful kid-dom, he and I looked at each other saying with our facial expressions, “huh, who’s this kid, and what does he want?”

Even before then, there was some weirdness going on.  Not home from school for even five minutes, Cal announced he’d be getting into his jammies before dinner so he’d be ready for bed.  On a good night, it’s a struggle to get him to do this after asking him 10 times right at bedtime.  And then he then proceeded to do so.  Dan and I gave each other the “what’s up with this kid?” look then, too, but didn’t stop it from happening.

Anyway, after he saw how well the “fabulous” comment went over with me, Cal proceeded to tell Dan that he looked “fabulous” and so did Ella.  He even paid himself the same compliment.

Dinner was a simple turkey burger, rice and the aforementioned green beans.  Cal and Ella sat at their kid-sized red table (a last-minute request which I saw no harm in obliging), drank their chocolate milk, ate some of their dinner and continued with the pleasantries.  There was no yelling, and only once did we need to remind Cal to sit at the table – that once was when he got out of his chair to pick up Ella’s fork which she had dropped on the floor. 

Yes, last night’s Leatherman dinner was absent the yelling, crying, whining, stress and threats that usually (as in daily) accompany it.  Dan and I didn’t speak much at all – I think we had an unspoken agreement not to so as not to disrupt the wonderfully pleasant tone that Cal had set.  We only exchanged the occasional “who’s this kid?” and “can he stick around for a few days… or forever?”

Clearly Cal didn’t really think the green beans looked really good because he left them uneaten on his plate.  He may have eaten half of his rice and turkey burger.  Ella, too.  When he decided he was finished, he carried his plate and cup to the sink.  Ella followed suit.  Though I would have preferred he (they both) be in the “clean plate club,” I was pretty pleased with the clearing of the table… and still perplexed over what his motivation for being so cooperative and content was.