Embarrassed? Who's embarrassed?!

My kids don’t get embarrassed much. Noah marched through the house yesterday in swim goggles with pliers on the way to make under water repairs. Aidan will often go for his coonskin cap when instructed to “grab a hat”. I typically mean that as something to cover his head and face from sun, sometimes intended for warmth. Sammy has been known to dance like this.

(it was 90+ degrees and he is shirtless, but not naked)

We socially wear pirate eye patches, skip anywhere, perform victory dances that would get them tossed from a pro football game and sing anything. Twice this week, I’ve seen a boy get embarrassed. It was truly unusual. Sam is toying with the idea of becoming a vegetarian. Not for political or social reasons. We have in fact suggested it. He doesn’t really eat much meat and that has become more of a struggle than it is worth. He has some friends who are vegetarian. He generally thinks this is a good idea, but has said very little. My mom very kindly and gently said, “so I hear you are thinking about becoming a vegetarian”. He clammed up so fast you would have thought my mom said, “so I hear you are in love”. It was just weird.

Next: Noah, my goggle-wearing, Thriller-singing, chicken dancing monkey, walked up to a woman at the zoo and started talking to her because he thought it was me. When he realized it, he blanched and scooted over to me smirking but couldn’t really say anything. I asked him about it and he acknowledged being embarrassed and curled up into my arms in a tiny, sweet bundle. It broke my heart. So I shared the following story lightened up for the six year old audience:

After Scott’s mom’s funeral, while compromised by oppressive heat and sheer exhaustion, I walked up behind Scott and scooped up his hand. To my shock, it was not Scott. No where to run, no where to hide. I just had to soak up my very least favorite emotion: embarrassment. Heaps of it.

And Michael Freitas has never let me forget it. And now, neither will Noah.