Southern Gentlemen

Sometimes my kids do something that not only surprises me but gives me hope for their generation.

Case in point.

On Friday we had a fire drill. It was the first fire drill of the year and the kids did really well. I did have to calm down Nuevo a America Boy (my non-English speaker) who thought for a moment that the fire drill was real. In between me saying, "It's practice, it's practice!" and whatever his cousin, El Primo Boy, said to him, he calmed down quickly and got into the swing of things. The kids were great - they went out the back door, walked down the sidewalk out to the parking lot, and lined up quietly.

As an aside, I am continually amazed at how well this group lines up and walks quietly to wherever we're taking them. It's kind of unnerving in a way. I'm guessing their sixth grade teachers really pounded this into them and it stuck - bless them!

So, the all clear is sounded and we're heading back to the rooms when I look and notice something amazing. We have a girl on our team, Scooter Girl, who has cerebral palsy and who uses a scooter to get around. Scooter Girl was having trouble getting her scooter up over the lip of the ramp to get on to the sidewalk and back to the rooms. In a flash, five of our boys are there helping her by lifting her and the scooter up over the ramp. Scooter Girl, with her big blue eyes and curly blonde hair, flashes her smile at them and thanks them before zooming off. The boys, of course, act like it's no big deal.

But it is a big deal. At least to me. Because no adult told these kids to help her. They saw there was a problem and stepped up and acted like gentlemen and helped a friend solve a problem.

I'm so proud of them.