When We're Not There

I think most parents wonder what their kids do when they're not around. I certainly know what Jeremiah usually does the moment I leave the room. Like two weeks ago when I was loading stuff in the car and told him not to come in the garage. He obeyed--and then promptly shut the door and locked me out. Then I heard him climb up on the kitchen stool, grab the car keys, lock and unlock the car a few times before turning on the car alarm. I had to get our extra set of keys out of our key box to get back in the house.

Then there was last Sunday as I was getting ready for small group. When I ran downstairs to grab something, Jeremiah managed to get the full pitcher of lemonade I'd just made and set it on the floor, with some spillage of course.

But we don't really know what he does with babysitters or when he's at Sunday School. Last week, his Sunday School teacher clued me in a little bit. Jeremiah gets very excited about seeing Mimi at Sunday School, a doll who helps to tell the story. His teacher said that when she starts to set up ahead of time, Jeremiah is so excited that he starts to line up all the chairs and then round up the other kids to come for storytime.

That's cool, I thought. But does he actually listen to the story? You bet, said his teacher. He's focused, one of the few kids who is.

I'm really glad he likes to listen to stories. I hope this continues throughout his lifetime.