The Wonderment of Joe

Today is Tuesday. Tuesday is soccer day.

Just like every soccer day, Joey, Laura and I arrived first. For some reason, we were exceptionally early today so we walked over to the skate park to watch a kid skateboarding for a while. Joey was enthralled by his tricks and how he flipped the board around.

When we saw Coaches John and Paul, I scooped up Laura and the 3 of us walked towards the field. I put Laura down and she started playing with one of the balls, and I turned to Joey.

"Ready?" I said in my most casual voice as I put my hand out towards his. With a less than enthusiastic voice he said "yeah" and put his little hand in mine. Together, we walked towards the coaches. Other kids were trickling in and running by us. Then, out of the blue, the most wonderful thing happened: Joey let go of my hand and started running with the other kids.

He proceeded to spend the next 30 minutes running, playing and laughing. He turned frequently to make sure I was nearby, which I was, but it was only for a second before engaging in the game again.

After 30 minutes, he had had enough, so we sat on the sidelines and talked about what they were doing. He laughed when Coach Paul or Coach John did something goofy (which, in a class of 3-5 year olds, is often) and when it was time to clean up, he jumped up, ran over to the cones and started picking them up. He gave both Coaches big "high fives" and he was beaming as we walked off the field towards our car. So was I.

This kid never ceases to amaze me.