.. well, not exactly the unknown, but it has been nearly a year since we have been camping with Jake and we've never gone with Manny. Jake was 7 weeks old the first time we ventured out with the camper, and went camping constantly during the first two years of his life.
Tomorrow we leave for the Boxcar Pinion Memorial Bluegrass Festival. We went last year and everyone had a blast. I am nervous about going this year, simply because Jake has fallen into a bedtime,eating and naptime schedule that he likes. Every time I am interviewed about Jake, I am asked if he freaks out if his schedule is changed. Well.. its hard to know, since we are just a scheduley family, and we haven't really traveled since I was pregnant with Manny. We will have a little 13 foot camper and we will also set up a giant tent complete with foam flooring, a mattress, TV and lots of toys, a safe place for Jake to play and wind down away from the fray. I'm positive that he will enjoy the music and the crowd, but I'm just as sure that he'll need to escape as well. Wish us luck!
Although I have described Jake before as exhibiting "aggressive" behaviour, I've noticed lately that that isn't exactly an accurate description. When Jake wants to play with another child, he will often stand very close to them smiling. When they ignore him or engage him or pretty much no matter what they do, he will often push them or hit them. He then giggles at their reaction, whether they cry or push back, and is usually overjoyed if they push him down or hit him hard. With adults, he loves to hug on his own terms, but doesn't really enjoy having in-and-out-again family members grab hin and hug him without permission (who would?). It seems almost pointless to try to teach his less-involved grandparents that they shouldn't grab him and hug him when he isn't receptive. You would think that teaching a child that it is OK to not accept unwanted touch would be important to caregivers (sigh), especially a child with limited verbal skills (but I digress). When he does hug, he likes to grab, pinch, hang, and otherwise make his affections almost painful for the receiver. Modeling "soft touch" or trying to teach him "gentle" has been a long journey that has yielded only mixed results. He has gotten better with other children.
Most importantly, Jake does not have a mean bone in his body. He is terribly upset when his actions cause his little brother to cry. Never have I seen him push or strike another child in anger or in retaliation to them taking a toy away, etc. He only seems to do these things because he doesn't know how to get a reaction otherwise. Jake is one of the most loving, sweet, and compassionate children I have ever known. He loves the people that he knows well: Mom, Dad, Mamaw, Papaw, "Uncle Larry" and a choice few others, and wants and needs very much to interact with children his own age. Hopefully we can facilitate that desire.
Be back with an update on the festival!
