A Little Gentleman

This is a true story. 

This morning, I made apple pancakes for breakfast. We were about to sit down to eat, so Porter went to my chair, stood behind it, and said, "Mommy's chair." I thought that was sweet, but I had to run out to get Lucy and bring her back in the kitchen. When I came back, Porter was still standing behind my chair and said, "Mommy, sit?" I said, "Sure." And Porter proceeded to pull out my chair for me. I sat down and he helped me scoot it in until I was settled. Then he went to his chair, pulled it out himself, then asked me to help him scoot his in too. 

I was dumbfounded. Seriously?! My two-year old has enough manners to pull out my chair and help me get settled at the table before he sits down? Where did this kid come from? Maybe the babysitter is holding regular etiquette lessons while I'm away at work.

I am constantly amazed at Porter's awareness of others. I read in a book once about teaching empathy to children. It said it's sometimes a tricky skill to teach and it often seems to be a skill that some children are just born with. Porter must be one of those. A little later in our breakfast, when I finished my first pancake, Porter said, "Mommy, more?" and got up to get me another one from the counter. He did this each time I finished a pancake.

And last story: 

Tonight when Porter and Lucy and I went to Barnes and Noble, we had several strangers help us by holding doors as I tried to maneuver a stroller and a jumpy 2-year-old into the store. And with each one, Porter beat me to saying "Thank you so much." He said it over and over each time. It was so cute!

Now, while I share these stories to point out how amazing my little Porter is, I don't want to paint an unclear picture. Porter is still a two-year old. He still stuck his fingers in the saucer of syrup at the breakfast table and cried when I took the iPhone away while we ate. And we still had tantrums at Barnes and Noble and moments where he thought it was wildly funny to run away from me and make me chase him across the store. But at the end of this long day, I'm going to choose to remember the good manners and be grateful for that little gentleman sleeping in the other room!