Thanks a lot

On Friday night, my sister took Grant out to play at an indoor bounce house gym. Grant said, "Thank you for taking me to Jump N Jammin."

He did it unprompted. He did it when they were lying on his bed for story time an hour later and he interrupted  the book to say, "Thank you."

I didn't tell him to say it. She didn't tell him to say it. He said it because he meant it.

Here's the thing. Grant sometimes throw epic tantrums. Screaming, hysterical, can't-even-get-him-to-listen-to-you-fits. Or if you tell him no for something, he might immediately launch into this annoying fake cry that's not a great look or sound on a nearly four-year-old. He will knock his toddling sister over so that he can pick her up and hug her, and then turn around and do it again. He will eat nothing but chicken nuggets. And he's still not consistent about coming when I call him. He hates to clean up. Reverence is a foreign concept.

There are days when he flat drives me nuts. I extrapolate his behavior into the future and I wonder what it means for him. What clues are buried in his meltdowns? What character flaws are real and permanent and what is just standard three-year-old psychoticness?

But then I don't worry. Because the thank you he told my sister is something he said because he meant it. And it's not the first time he's done it. He has the ability to be in a moment he's really enjoying, a little snapshot of happiness, like when my neighbor gave him cold water on a hot day, and he can stop and look at whoever made his happy moment possible and say, "Thank you," with genuine delight. Because he wants to.

A grateful heart . . .

I didn't teach him that. He came to me that way. It's one of the special little things that makes him Grant. And a grateful heart is a powerful gift. It will keep him humble. It will help him find joy in everyday life. It will draw people to him. It will multiply his blessings.

And the tantrums still make me nuts. But I worry less for his future. Because his core, his essence . . . his spirit, are good and true and with a little nurture, he will grow to be great.

I love him. Crazy stinker.