The Little Man

Ian adores the librarian at his school. It could be because she is the keeper of the hugest collection of reading material he can wrap his mind around. It could also be because she knows which are the best dinosaur books to read. It could be because she has remembered his name every time he has walked into the library for the last two years. Most likely though, it is because she is a sweet, loving person who shares his passion for books.

And she is not coming back to school this year.

The going-away party was Tuesday. When I told Ian it was time to go, he was in the bathroom with the door closed. I peeked in to see if he needed help getting ready. There he was, standing in front of the mirror, wearing his blue suit. The white long-sleeved shirt was buttoned all the way to the collar, but every button was off by one, leaving the collar hanging crooked around his neck. As he stood there looking in the mirror with tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth, he fumbled with his clip-on tie. He had taken it upon himself to dress up for the occasion, to show Mrs. J his appreciation by looking his spiffiest!

"Do I look dapper, Mom?" he asked, as I re-buttoned his shirt.

"You sure do, sweetie."

"Do I look distinguished?" he inquired again, while I worked on the tie.

"Absolutely, positively distinguished," I said proudly.

"Well, then, I'm ready. Let's go to Mrs. J's party," he concluded.

Ian did look great, but he felt something was missing. After looking over the toys scattered in the play room, he selected Spencer, the sleek silver train engine, to accompany him to the event. I often wonder if Thomas and company are going to go with him to the Prom. For now, it's o.k. that he wants to take them everywhere he goes. It gives him a sense of comfort to hold the train pieces when he is in unfamiliar or stressful situations. Party = many people = noise = stress.

He was such a gentleman, too. All of the teachers there commented to me how adorable he looked. Mrs. J was especially charmed that he had done all of that just to say good-bye to her. She told me he is one of her favorite students. She took a picture of him in which he was trying to look extremely cool. This can be challenging when one has cookie crumbs all over the front of one's suit.

All-in-all, I think Ian handled this good-bye very well. He seemed somewhat sad that he would not see Mrs. J and longer, but I could tell he was trying to be happy for her. He made it through this challenging social situation with very little difficulty. That may be because it took place in the library, a location that makes him feel extremely comfortable. I wonder if they do birthday parties.