Of Books and Stickers

Tutoring session number two finished an hour ago and I'm still smiling. Dave and I are on good terms. How do I know that? He gave me a sticker. Put it right on my forehead. I made a silly face at him, letting him know I was playing along. And then he took Tina's stickers, then gave them back after I threatened to go to the teacher.

Thank goodness for the teacher. She called me yesterday and we chatted about Dave. I learned some things about him that explained his behavior. I stepped in his shoes and walked around them a bit. That was my exercise, my mental preparation. It worked. The only thing I worried about was coming across sincere. But I just made my mind forget anything I knew about him and concentrated on him right then. Mind you, I did have to mention something his teacher told me. His mom promised to take him and a friend to a major sporting event if he cooperated in class and in the reading sessions. Once I said that, he reluctantly began reading. I think he even got into the story a bit.

When the program leader gave him the Thanksgiving stickers, he plastered them all over his folder. Except for one chipmunk, which he reserved for my forehead. Still makes me smile.