Preston

I don't talk about Preston much.  I know this.  To be fair, there is not much to say.  Not in a bad way, it's just he's a really good kid.  Yes, the kind of child every mother dreams of.  No brag, just fact.  Yet, this brings on a whole new set of worries, because, really, isn't this every mother's job.  To worry?

Preston is the middle child.  Kevin and I were both middle children.  He's the one that gets ignored most of the time, gets lost in the shuffle, and generally has to fend for himself.  Kevin and I did it as kids, and we honestly try to make a more concerted effort to avoid doing this to poor Preston, but it's inevitable I think.  I never really worried about him though.  He doesn't complain, he plays by himself, does what he's told, and never causes a fuss.  But after yesterday, lucky me, I now have found reasons to worry.

I went to parent/teacher conferences yesterday, and the teacher gave a glowing report about how well he is doing with math and reading, and never causes any trouble in her classroom.  Which, for her, causes a little concern.  What?  What do you mean?  Isn't that ideal?  Yeah, I know.  I was floored too.

She told me that sometimes Preston is too kind.  Huh?  How is that possible?  Example:  Apparently when Preston is in line, some of the kids will push in ahead of him.  Typical behavior.  His response, I guess, is not.  She said he just steps back and lets them get in front of him, without saying a word.  She's worried he's going to get pushed around a lot as he gets older, without defending himself.  Oh boy.

Then she tells me that she noticed he's constantly giving things away.  Or wanting to buy her and other people things.  He REALLY wants to buy her a ring or a necklace.  lol  And he wants to give all his supplies to other kids that don't have something, but then ends up not having enough supplies for himself.  Great.  

And lastly, she tells me that he is REALLY sensitive to other people's emotions.  She says that if the kids are being naughty in the class or she seems stressed, he keeps trying to make it better.  He asks if he can give her a backrub (can we say "overly affectionate") or if he can help somehow.  And she says this is a constant thing for him.  Ugh.
 
So she wants me to make sure he doesn't seem to be overburdened.  Someday he will have a major catastrophe come his way, there's no getting around it, and she worries he won't be able to handle it.  "A lot for a little guy to carry around."  So, yeah, now I worry about that too. 
 
We, as parents, work really hard at making sure our children are good, kind, sensitive, loving, blah, blah, blah.  Apparently, Preston has taken that to the 10th degree.  So, even when you seem to have the "perfect" child, you still have to worry.  So let's just be grateful we are given lots of different kind of children, so we have a job to do.  Worry.