Humor - A cute but cautionary tale

by Michelle Buckman

One thing I try to teach my children is that family should take care of each other. It's always a reward to see lessons put into actions.

Near the end of my second pregnancy I took my three-year-old son to a sibling class at our hospital. A matronly nurse huddled in a circle with the group of soon-to-be-big brothers and sisters, explaining how small the new baby would be, how much she would cry, how she would have to be diapered and fed, and that Mommy and Daddy would be very busy. "But you can help," she said to the children, and offered easy chores such as carrying diapers, and singing to the baby. And then, knowing all the mothers present planned to breastfeed, she added another helpful hint. "When your Mommy is feeding the baby, she will get very thirsty, and you should take her a glass of water." As we left the class, I wondered what, if anything, my son would remember when the baby arrived.

The first day home from the hospital, I lay in bed holding our new baby girl. My son crept in and sat unusually quiet, just watching. When the time came to feed the baby, I settled her to my breast, and waited for his reaction.

"Are you feeding her?" he asked.

"Yes, dear. This is how I give her milk."

"Oh goody! I know what to do!" He jumped from the bed, grabbed the cup from my nightstand and ran from the room. I stared after him, my heart swelling with pride at how well he had remembered the nurse's instructions and how eagerly he wanted to help.

He returned beaming, holding out my cup brimming with water. "I 'membered you needed a drink, Mommy."

As I lifted the water to my lips, I paused, wondering how he had reached the faucet, and why I hadn't heard the water run. "Where did you get this water?"

He grinned at his ingenuity. "From the toilet!"

You know what they say ... It's the thought that counts.