Standing Back

We are at the water playground, and Ezra is finally, on our third visit in six days, finally doing something other than standing as far from the water as possible. He’s soaked, in fact, having a great time filling up a cup with water and dumping it out over and over again.

I’m on the sidelines, trying to keep poor Zella out of the hot sun and cold water, and I see a big kid approach Ezra. He reaches for the cup, and I start walking towards them, ready to head off the theft. As I approach, I see Ezra looking confused, and hear the kid say, “I’ll fill it for you.” I am skeptical, and about to intervene, yelling “give him back that cup!” but something tells me to wait. To stand back.

The kid takes Ezra’s cup and fills it for him, and brings it back. He watches as Ezra dumps the water into a mud puddle, and then he gently takes the cup again, and fills it again. He shows Ezra a pine cone. He lets Ezra dump the cup on his feet. He fills the cup ten times. And when his dad tells him it’s time to go, he says “I just have to fill this cup one more time.”

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