Pied Piper

They call him the Pied Piper...Okay, well one of the moms at the playground did this afternoon. It was very a lovely Spring day today and the playground was busy with kids burning off their winter energy. We weren't there 5 min. before Kai stumbled upon a large group of kids sitting collectively in one of the climbing towers. They were instantly smitten with him and were tickled pink that he was reciprocating their "high fives". Kai made himself quite at home in their presence for the next 30+ minutes. At no point did he have fewer than 6 children in his entourage, but for much of the time there were easily 10 or more. The oldest kids were probably 4th or 5th graders, and the youngest were about 6 or 7 years old. They offered him snacks, babied him, oooo'd and awed over anything he did that was perceived as cute, and rode down toddler slides with him firmly planted in his lap. They took turns carrying him around and openly gave him space to "lead the group" to his next chosen activity. Kai missed out on countless opportunities to be coddled as an infant and so, was pleased as punch to go along with the group's vigilance for his safety and need for companionship. I was smiling so hard my cheeks hurt by the end of it. It was the most darling scene...a brood of mother hens all caring for the happiness of one little boy. I'm sooooo glad we made it to the playground today; it made for a very sweet experience for all involved.