A Learning Experience ...

Wesley likes to be in the middle of the activity. When the activity is in the kitchen, he comes scurrying around the corner asking, "What you makin'?" And he grabs his little stool, the tippy one we've had for about 13 years, and he sits it down with a thunk, grabs the edge of the countertop, and hoists himself up so he can see what's going on.

I usually bend over and position his feet in the middle of the stool, explaining to him that if he stands too close to the edge, it will tip over and "you'll fall down and bump your head".

A few days ago, as I was rolling cookie dough in my hands (I always forget to push up my sleeves and after my hands are covered with food-stuff, that's usually when I realize I'm about to get my cuffs dirty and I turn and ask my "helpful" husband, "Will you push my sleeves up?" - and he happily assists by pushing them all the way to my shoulders. He's a comedian.) Wesley came skidding around the corner, grabbed his little stool and hoisted himself up so he could peer over the counter. He stepped to the edge of the stool .... and it flipped.

After righting the stool and making sure he was OK - I again explained and even demonstrated the tippiness of the stool. I showed him again how he needs to position his feet in the middle, so that he doesn't fall off and bump his head. He listened attentively and then promptly hopped onto the stool again. And I was thinking to myself that after that timely teaching moment, he will naturally keep his feet positioned in the center from this point forward.

At that moment, Jay came into the kitchen and I said "Wesley just had a learning experience! He stepped to the edge of the stool and it flipped."

Jay said, "Well .... you're half right.

It was an experience.

He fell off it 3 times yesterday."