Greetings! Wow it’s been a bit. I’ve had lots of topics in mind but little time to actually write. But after what happened today I had to find the time to tell you all.
Today was a great day. It was actually my day off but I volunteered for overtime and spent 8 hours working in the galleries. I sometimes enjoy it because the people watching is great but there are times we get “little terrors.” And I got one today.
A small boy of about 3 years came in with his mom, another woman and several other children. This little boy was running around and around and I did the best I could to keep him in line. Every time I saw him about to climb something or actually climb something I had to go over and talk him down or reach for his hand to get him to walk away from it. This little boy wore me out. You’re probably asking “Where was his mom?” well she was looking at the art and not paying her son much attention (this is typical in the museum, lots of parents pay no attention to their kids).
While my hands were full and my frustration grew with this little boy another boy in the group was watching carefully. He looked to be about 5 or 6 years old and every time the smaller boy gave me trouble he’d look at me and shrug his shoulders. It was like he was telling me “Yea we don’t know what to do with him either.” At some point the older boy told me that the younger one was his brother and that he runs everywhere. I pretty much knew this already but indulged him in conversation. I told the big brother that his younger brother should stop running because he could get hurt or hurt the art. He looked at me said “yea, he should.” I didn’t know it at the time but a hero was born right at that moment. The older brother wasted no time in starting to help me control this little one. I no longer had to pull and pry his bother off of things, he did it for me. I thought this was great, I had no idea what was coming up.
Eventually the little boy ran even harder and in multiple paths so the older brother and I were both trying to contain the little one. Well older brother finally got tired of little brother’s antics. I stood about 12 feet away and I watched the older brother as he firmed up his stance. He planted his feet and then opted for a wider stance and replanted his feet. I wasn’t sure what he was doing but he knew exactly what he was doing. Meanwhile the little boy is running back and forth past the older brother. Once the big brother got his stance, he jumped right in the little boy’s way. The little one ran into his big brother (hard I might add) and bounced off him and landed on the floor. It all happened in slow motion from my perspective. The big brother stood firm and was not even moved during the impact. Once the little one was firmly on the floor big brother stood over him and said “Now stop that running!” The little boy began to cry and big brother looked at me with a grin from ear to ear. He looked so cute and proud, that I smiled back and gave him the thumbs up! At that moment I realized that heroes come in all sizes. Here’s to you big brother!
