Show & Tell... by guest poster Auntie Cookie (with unrelated photo)

Last week, by some small miracle, Madelyn was special person on Wednesday. She has been wanting this for awhile because she has been dying to bring Benjamin for sharing. Now, you have to keep in mind that she is one of the shyest kids in her class, beat only by the girl who is selectively mute. So it is a pretty big deal that she is actually excited for sharing and not terrified and anxious, as usual. We clear the bringing of “live” sharing with her teacher and set up a time. When Jammy and I arrive the whole class is “abuzz” (don’t know if that is really a word but it really describes what was going on)….you could hear lots of “Is that Madelyn’s sharing?” in hushed and shocked tones. Finally the whole class is settled on the carpet, Benjamin and I are seated in the place of honor, and Madelyn is standing next to us WITH A MICROPHONE….I, myself, can’t actually believe that my child will be speaking into a microphone, and am giddy with anticipation to see how it goes. She says, “This is my cousin, Benjamin. He is 4 months old. Any questions?” Pretty much everyone’s hands go up. She calls on the selectively mute child, who has apparently started speaking some now, and she whispers, “He is so cute.” From here on out that is pretty much all we hear, with some variation. I believe the word adorable was used as well. The teacher is standing off to the side saying, “Does anyone have any QUESTIONS? Think who, what, where, when, why and how.” But nobody is falling for that, and they continue with the “he is so adorable” business. To add a little excitement to the whole adventure, Benjamin decides to spit up for everyone, just to prove how talented he is. Now you can just imagine the thrill this gave all the little cherubs….especially the first grade boys, who live for anything slightly gross. The talk immediately turned to all kinds of bodily functions, though mostly poop, which their teacher tried to kill off immediately, without much success. We did finally get some questions, though, “Where did you get him? Do you like to play with him? Do you like to tickle him and make him laugh?” The last one got the best response from Miss Madelyn, as that is exactly her favorite thing in the whole world to do, so much so that sometimes he gets a little reddish around the neckline from her vigorous work. It is decided that she should give a demonstration. She starts her regular tickle routine and immediately gets quite the giggle out of the little man. The whole class rises, en masse, to get a better look and creates a sort of mosh pit feeling around Benjamin, lots of pushing and shoving and jostling…I’m a little surprised no one was trampled actually. He looks up at 21 curious faces totally invading his personal space and gets a little freaked out….effectively ending sharing for the day. As the bell rings and everyone heads out the door, they all stop by to touch his foot (or pet him) and say good-bye. It is the talk of everyone’s dinner tables that night, as I hear about it from all the moms the next morning. Benjamin is famous in the first grade….now we’ll just have to see if Annie will share him in preschool!