Jackson is a shy kid, when meeting new people or in new crowds he tends to hide behind Mommy or Daddy. Even if he’s met the people before but doesn’t see them frequently he tends to hang back not wanting to say, “hi” or give a high-five until he’s ready. And I respect that. I get that. But other people don’t always.
Over Christmas there was an incident with an Aunt who he see’s twice a year. She came in all excited, wanting hugs, and kisses and pushing presents at him. He cried.
Last week we met up with John’s Aunt, Uncle and cousin for dinner while in Disney World. We picked an Irish Restaurant that everyone loved. But I was worried about Jack. It had been a long week of running around the parks and last time we dined at that restaurant he had a belly ache the moment we sat down to eat. I was worried that the new people and the bad memories were a recipe for disaster.
We sat at a table near the stage where Irish dancers and musicians performed in front of the large, crowded restaurant. Jack covered his ears at first but then when the dancers came out he asked to have his high chair moved so that he could have a better view. In between bites of fish he watched the musicians and the dancers and clapped along to the music.
My husband was thrilled that Jack was enjoying the Irish music.
During dinner, Jack said to me “Mommy, I want to go up there” pointing to the stage.
“Honey, you can’t, the dancers are performing” I replied and he understood and went back to watching.
As we were getting up to leave he said it again and again I told him we couldn’t. And then I saw one of the dancers leading a little girl to the stage. I said to her, “Can he go too?”
“Sure” she replied taking Jack’s hand and leading him up the stage.
And I held my breath.
Thinking that he would come running back to me or to his Dad or grandparents. And as I watched him walk out on the stage I ran to the front so that he could see me. There he was, my little 3 year old, on stage in front of a restaurant full of people. With the stage lights shining on him, it was if that shy kid from an hour ago had disappeared. He listened as the dancer taught the steps and followed along smiling the whole time. He took the little girls hand and danced in a circle with her. He kicked his feet and took a bow at the end.
And I exhaled. He was fine, he was happy, he was my little boy and in that moment I could not have been more amazed and more proud. I looked at John and knew he was thinking the same thing. We smiled for the rest of the night the three of us.
And I realized that one of the joys of this crazy parenting ride is that no matter how well we know our kids, no matter how much we think we know there quirks and limits and fears and desires, that they always find a way to surprise us.
So sweet. Maybe he is a performer. A lot of performers say in "real life" they are shy, but love to be performing on stage! Cute pictures and video!
My oldest took Irish Step Dancing lessons from the time she was barely three until she was 10. The only reason she stopped was because the lessons were so far away and there was no way we could get her there and still do everything else multiple times a week which was what the other kids her age were doing. It was sad.
I've never seen him like that before but it would be cool if he was a performer. My college roommate knew how to Irish Step Dance, it was such a fun thing to be able to do.
How fantastic is this? I know the feeling of having a shy one- the twins go warm and cold. It's hard to decide what's ok and what will cause a meltdown sometimes. I love that he went up there- what a cool dude 🙂
Thank you! I know what you mean when kids are hot and cold you walk a thin line with meltdowns.
Adorable! Looks like he had lots of fun! Glad you all got to enjoy dinner & dancing!
I am stopping by and saying hi! 🙂 I am in your SITS tribe. I am so excited to get to know you better!
Thanks for stopping by I'm so excited to meet everyone in our tribe.
I love those kinds of breakthrough moments as a parent! Seeing your kid have confidence in themselves is one of the best feelings. Maybe you have a future performer on your hands!
Stopping by from your SITS tribe. Nice to meet you!
I agree these breakthrough moments are great and it's amazing to watch as there confidence grows. So nice to meet you and looking forward to getting to know our tribe this week.
Disney has the tendency to bring out the adventurer in all of us. What's better than dinner with family, and a dancing on stage debut?
I look forward to reading more!
I'm in your SITS Tribe YAY!
Disney does bring out the adventurer in people, I just love it there. So glad that you are a part of my tribe, thanks for stopping by it should be a fun week.
Oh how sweet! Look at him go! I relish in moments like this when I witness one of my boys making progress socially. It is hard at that age, but he seems to be having a ball!
PS-Stopping in to say hello! I'm part of your SITS tribe. 🙂
It is really hard at this age socially. He wants to be apart of things and be a bigger kid but in some ways he's still a baby and wants to be with his Mama. Thanks for stopping by, I'm looking forward to all this SITS Tribe fun.
This made me smile. I'm so happy that he found something that he could enjoy. I know I was like that with people when I was younger- I HATED being forced to go give hugs to people I barely knew. I liked to hang back. (still do in some situations) I try to be really aware of that when I see my nieces and nephews. Even though I love them so much and hear all about what they are doing… I don't get to see them often, so I try not to overwhelm them by scooping them up and kissing them when I do see them.
I feel the same way you do, I'm not always the most out going person in a crowd, so I try to be sensitive to his shyness. That's great that you are aware of how kids can be with your nieces and nephews, it is such a huge help to moms of shy kids when others are understanding and don't push the affection the moment they see them.
I love this so much. I have been shy my whole life and my younger son is definitely like this too. He's slow to warm up to people and he doesn't like loud situations or unfamiliar places very much. I love so much that your son saw something that he wanted to do and that he went for it. He is brave, and you are brave too.
Thank you MJ! I think he's pretty brave too.