Last night Eli and I were lying on the couch watching The Office (Emmy's birthday cake pushed bed times back a bit). Isobel came downstairs whining about being cold. My sweet, sweet Eli held up his blanket so Isobel could join him. Now, when I say blanket, I mean blankie. It is not very big and he cannot function without it (or one of its many siblings). Isobel climbed up onto the couch next to him and they cuddled under this little blankie. It was almost the cutest thing I have ever seen them do...
Of course, my darling Isobel then wrapped herself up in Eli's blankie pulling it completely off of him. He started to cry and she just shrugged and said "I'm cold!”
This made me realize that I am quite a bit like Eli. I always assume people are intrinsically good and always going to do the right thing. I am usually proven wrong. How do I teach him that there should be limitations to his kindness? How do I teach him something that I never learned myself? How does one teach a child that people will take advantage of his kindness and most likely hurt him in the process? Is it something that should be taught or is it one of those lessons he should learn the "hard way"?
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