The Kindness of Munchkin

I'm so proud of Munchkin today. I mean, I am proud of her everyday, and you have likely all noticed that I tend to gush about her quite a bit, but I can't help it. I am just sometime like to brag like a Mom. She is smart and funny and gorgeous and caring and generous and all of those things. But, also, she is just really, really nice.

So here is what happened yesterday...

There is a boy in her class who is kind of socially awkward. He is heavy, and sort of unusual and I don't think he has a ton of friends. I don't think that the kids are really mean to him, but he is just sort of odd and is kind of an outsider. Well, like just about every other boy she has ever met, he has something of a crush on her. And also like just about everyone she has ever met, she basically likes him.

He plays the cello (I think), and apparently quite well...well enough to be in some kind of a junior orchestra that travels a lot and is of some repute. Once a year, they have like a big concert and are then invited to the Boston Symphony Orchestra as guests of the BSO. They get to meet the musicians at a rehearsal, get to sit in the front of the house for a show and have a reception with them afterwards, and they are allowed to bring guests (you probably see where this is going).

So, he called last night and asked Munchkin if she wanted to go with him (well, he is allowed three guests, so he asked if she wanted to go with his parents and him...close enough). And once again, she showed a level of maturity in social situations and an awareness of people's feelings and thoughts that is WAY beyond her years.

If I back up, she had her two best friends over at the time...they were working on a project. I was cleaning up the kitchen and sort of observing, so, I got to see their reactions afterwards. He called and she said "Sure, that sounds fun. I have people over now, so let me call you back later to talk about it, or we can talk at school tomorrow." Her friends reacted with a lot of surprise...something like "Ew, he is is gross and weird, why do you want to go out with him?"

And she kinda shrugged and basically told them "He's nice, and I do think it will be fun. He's not gonna be my boyfriend, I am just going to see his concert." Not sure they really got her logic, but that kinda stuff just doesn't bother her. Later, after they teased her good-naturedly a little bit, and asked her why she didn't just pretend that she had something else to do, she said something that I think is really profound "C'mon, you know it took him a lot of courage to call a girl and ask her. How mean and unfair would it be to just totally reject him for no good reason?"

That was kind of the end of it with her friends, and they left when they were done with their work. Then she called the boy back, and had another super mature conversation...thanked him for inviting her and told him that she thought it sounded like a lot of fun, but also, in her own way, made it clear that she likes being friends with him but doesn't want to give him the impression that she wants to be anything more than that. Nice, simple, no confusion and no hurt feelings.

Afterwards, she told me that she knows he gets really nervous, and she knows he was probably really dying before he got the courage up to actually call and invite her. So she admired his actually having the nerve to ask her. And she knows that he has sort of a crush on her (seriously...they all do, it is fairly obvious...lol) and didn't want to send him any mixed signals.

So, there you have it...unpopular kid that no one really likes asks Munchkin on kind of a date. She manages to handle it without offending anyone, without sending any mixed signals and without being unnecessarily mean to anybody.

Probably kind of a boring story for the rest of you, but I liked it.

I'm proud of her, which is a pretty common occurrence:-)