I'll admit, I was not at first very enthusiastic about walking a mile to school with him, not because I don't love my melodramatic five year old, but because as enthusiastic as I am in my communication with him, his response is always akin to a dirge. For example, most mornings before school we go through his litany of reasons why he doesn't want to go.
"Mom, I don't like school. The other kids talk to me. And we color. All day."
"Mom, I don't like school. There's lunch. I didn't learn anything."
And then his responses when I tell him to go play outside:
"I can't. My legs hurt. I'm so tired. I hurt my back. I'm getting hotter/colder (depending on weather). I'm afraid of the bees/moths/spiders/trees/flowers/water."
All that to say a mile was looking very long before my second cup of coffee. And sure enough, it started off with "my legs are so cold." But then, something unexpected happened.
"Mom, remember Uptwon Funk?"
"Of course, buddy. Want me to play it while we walk?"
"Yes!"
So I found it on my phone, and pressed play. And for a mile, he danced his way, uncomplaining, joyfully, energetically, the whole to school. He danced by other people, he danced left and right. He danced forward, and backward. As long as the song kept playing, he kept dancing.
When we got to his class, he was happy and smiling. And when I left him at school, I was too. The morning didn't start off the way I planned it, and we are so much the better for it. I wouldn't trade that one mile for anything.
