The 5 Minutes Before We Got to School This Morning

Me: Hey Noah, hang on, I just want to tell you one thing real quick, before you go in, so could you try your best to listen? I want you to remember today to be kind to others ... it's very important that you remember this, okay? I want you to be especially nice to the kids today that no one plays with, the ones that no one talks to. I want you to find those kids, and I want YOU to talk to them, and I want YOU play with them. Because you know what, Noah? That's the best thing we can do in this life -- treat others kindly no matter how they dress, or talk, or what video games they play, or which cartoons they watch. Because Noah, it's not enough to be the one who doesn't pick on those kids. It's not enough to just stand there and do nothing. Because Noah -- this is the part you have to remember the most -- when good people do nothing, bad things happen. And you are a good person, Noah -- I know that about you. You are a good person with a good heart, so it's your job to make sure that you are always looking out for the people who have trouble looking out for themselves. Do you understand what I'm saying?

Noah: I think so mom. It's like when last year I started school and I had no friends the first couple days, and I would just stand there alone until my best friend, Isaiah came up to me and decided to be my friend. It's just like that, right?

Me: Yes. It's just like that ... I didn't know that happened to you, Noah. I didn't know that you were alone those first couple of days. I wish I had known that.

Noah: Yeah. But it's okay now, Mom. Isaiah's a good person, too, and he decided to be my friend.

Me: Hey Noah, I know I said just one thing, but there's something else I want to tell you. I want you to know that I love you and I'm proud of you, and those things are real, and true, and they never go away. I know your dad and I come down really hard on you when you bring home notes from your teacher, or when you're impatient with your sister, or when you don't put your shoes on even though we asked you 3,000 times, but Noah, that doesn't change how much I love you. Or how proud I am of you. There's nothing you could do to change that, okay?

Noah: Okay, mom.

Me: Alright -- 2nd grade. Let's do this.