One of the things I love most about Aden is his huge heart. He loves like no one I've ever met. He is so caring with people and if he ever thinks Adam or I are upset with him, you can almost hear his little heart break. He is a June baby, so he's generally either the oldest or the youngest in his daycare classes. The older kids move to the next room first and the young kids come in his class before he moves. So many of the teachers tell me that he is always the one who shows the "new kids" where the toys are and is the first to run to them when one falls down. When he was in the potty training room, he'd ask the little ones if they needed to go potty, and would take them by the hand to the restroom. At both church and school, he's often called the teachers helper.
Because I know this about him, it didn't surprise me at all to hear about Nooria (pronounced "NOO-dee-uh"). She's a tiny little girl in his class who I guess is kind of new. Usually, Adam takes the boys to school in the mornings and I pick them up. Last week, I had the opportunity to sleep in for just a bit so I took the boys to school a little later than they usually go. When we got to the door, there was this little wild eyed girl just standing there, waiting. As soon as she saw Aden, she grabbed his hand and they walked off. The teacher said, "Oh Aden... she's been waiting for you!" I thought - how cute! A couple days later as I was picking him up, I saw Nooria's mom at the door with her, saying, "Say bye to Aden Nooria!" So I asked the teacher about it. She said Nooria was having a hard time when her mom left each morning. Crying inconsolably. The teachers found it difficult to soothe her for the first little while each day. So Aden went over and put his arm around her and said, "It's okay, we'll play and have fun!" and now she's attached herself to him and they are friends. (Everyday after school I ask what he did that day and he says, "Played with Nooria!" He likes her too!) So this makes sense why she was upset when she got there that one morning and Aden wasn't there yet.
Anyway, this is one of hundreds of examples of how deeply Aden cares for people. I am so proud of him and his loving soul. I hope he never loses that. Mean people will show themselves to him and I'm sure his heart will break many more times. I just hope that despite all that, he will always keep that giant heart he has.
