A Mind Made Up

VBS, Day 2.

While helping Ethan put his sandals on before we all hop in the car to go, I decided to give him a little "pep" talk. His first day ever of Vacation Bible School at our church the day before had gone well. We'd had an extra helper there just for him, and most of the time, he didn't need her. I'd noticed when dropping him off, though, that he'd had a bit of trouble adjusting to the chaos of about 15 kids running around one little room (before they joined the big kids upstairs). A boy asked his name, for example, and I don't think Ethan even heard him...or was too distracted by the noise to answer.

"Now Ethan, remember," I said in what was probably an annoying teacher voice. "When someone asks you your name, you say, 'My name is Ethan. What's your name?'"

Ethan grinned at this ."My name is Ethan," he repeated, still smiling.

"And if they say, 'Do you want to play with me?' you tell them, "Yes!" I continued.

"How about 'No,'" Ethan answered emphatically.

"Okay, you can tell them 'maybe,'" I conceded.

The boy knows when he's being pandered to.

"How about 'maybe not,'" he replied, without missing a beat.