MAX IS A NOID
“Mommy, Jimmy called me a name!”
“Oh, did he now?”
“Yeah!”
“Just what did he call you?”
“He called me a Noid!”
“A Noid?!”
“Yeah! I don’t like being called a Noid!”
“And why is that?”
“It bothers me!”
“Well, dear, maybe he called you that because you were being annoyed too easily.”
“Mommy! Now you’re callin’ me names!”
“Tell me, dear, what were you doing when he said you were ‘annoyed’?”
“Well, we were playin’ checkers and he kept stacking the ones he won on top of his knee.”
“And?”
“And then he kept callin’ me a Noid!”
“Well, what were you doing while he was stacking his checkers on his knee?
“Nothin’...”
“Nothing?”
“Yeah, I was just playin’ the game.”
“Did you say anything to Jimmy?”
“I told him to stop stackin’ the checkers on his knee.”
“Did he?”
“No! He made me so mad because he kept doin’ it.”
”Then what happened?”
“Well, I sorta bumped the board and the checkers got messed up.”
“And?”
“And that’s when he said I was an easy Noid!”
“You mean he said you were too easily annoyed?”
“Yeah! He makes me so mad!”
“Come here, Max. Let me tell you a story.....Once upon a time there was a big brother and a little brother who loved each other very much, but they just couldn’t get along together. It seems the little brother was too easily annoyed.”
“Mommy!”
“Let me finish. Anyway, the little brother would get upset over the littlest thing. He’d stomp his foot and stick out his lower lip whenever the big brother did anything he didn’t like. Well, the big brother thought that was kind of fun--seeing his little brother stomp his foot and stick out his lower lip. So he started finding things to do that would get his little brother to do his little act. Soon he began to charge his friends to come see how he’d trained his little brother to stomp his foot and stick out his lower lip. They’d all laugh. But the little brother didn’t laugh. He felt sad. Is that how you feel? Sad? Well, one day the little brother got so mad that he decided he was going to get even.”
“What did he do?”
“He broke his brother’s favorite toy. But you know what?”
“What?”
“It didn’t make him feel any better. He still felt sad, but now he also felt guilty.”
“So what did he do?”
“He told his mommy and she told him a story about how just because someone calls you a duck doesn’t make you a duck.”
“Oh, Mommy, don’t be silly....Of course, you’re not a duck just because someone calls you a duck.”
“But that also means just because someone calls you a ‘Noid’ you’re a ‘Noid’.”
“Oh.”
“But you know what that also means?”
“What?”
“When people do things you don’t like you mustn’t take it personally.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, even if Jimmy stacked those checkers on his knee just to annoy you, you should be like a duck and let it run off your back. You see, that’s why ducks can stay in the water and not sink or get cold. Their feathers don’t soak up the water. They can stick their heads under the water to look for food and the water just runs off their back.
So you see, if you want to be happy instead of sad, you have to be who you really are, not what someone else thinks you are or what they want you to be.”
“But, Mommy, how do I know who I really am?”
“It takes time. That’s what growing up is all about--finding out who you really are. You just have to keep reminding yourself to be like a duck, but if someone calls you a duck, that doesn’t mean you are a duck.”
“Oh, Mommy, you’re being silly again. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Max.”
© 2004 Cathy Gilleylen Schultz
Very cute - and sweet - story, Cathy. Gee I have some "Morning Musings" posts to catch up on. I've been a little pre-occupied for the past 2 months. The management of my apartment complex is renovating the place - only NOT the way most complexes do it. One apartment at a time, right after a resident moves out. The folks here decided they want to do a whole floor at a time - while residents are still here. !!! And they decided to start with my building [one of 4] and my floor first. We each had to pack up our entire apartments - lock stock & barrel - and we were moved to empty apartments within the complex [luckily I was moved to the 1st floor in the same building I'm already in. For 6 weeks we lived out of boxes - it was like camping indoors! At Christmas time too! Then we were moved right back. I've spent the last few weeks UNPACKING everything I packed up in December. It's been a nightmare but at least it's over & done with for our floor. We were the guinea pigs since we were first, and I imagine the management has learned a lot on how to do it. Only have a few boxes left - nothing important or urgent. But I really loathe moving so it hasn't been fun at all. I've only lived in 2 apartments since I left my parents - that's how much I like moving - LOL! Well, I'll be sure to catch up on the posts I've missed [I'm really looking forward to the one detailing your latest Take Joy group outing]. Take care, STAY HEALTHY - and talk to you soon! ❤️đź‘Ť
ReplyDeleteThank you, Janet. It sounds very disruptive the way your apartment floor was remodeled. I sure hope it was worth it. Were appliances and countertops upgraded, etc., as well as carpeting? It must have been cheaper for them to do it in "bulk" or something. You stay healthy, too! I'm pretty much stay to myself anyway, so the only thing I'm missing out on are my grandchildren and family.
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