The lame and the planes

What is it with the newly and nearly two-year-olds? Sam and his buddy L. seem to do whatever they can to irritate each other to the point of holding and object out tantalizingly and then snatching back just as other grabs for whatever it is they happen to simultaneously covet. Doesn’t matter what it is. I swear they could be in a huge pile of leaves and fight over the exact same leaf. I worry that Sam is growing up to be a bully and was relieved (although I’d never mention it to L’s mother) to hear that L’s daycare providers mentioned to L’s folks that L seems to have trouble sharing. Now, Sam’s no angel in the sharing department but I’d never seen his as bad as he is with L.

Today we decided that we’d do an outing where we could practice sharing and do something they both find totally fascinating at the same time. Off to the airport we go to watch airplanes TAKE OFF! And LAND! Prior to our outing we have the conversation about bringing snacks for both L and Sam so Sam can SHARE with L. And we’ll take these identical except for color motorcycles so Sam can SHARE with L. And L’s mom will put L’s carseat in our car and we’ll all go to the airport. Happy nodding on Sam’s part. L’s mom is having a nearly identical conversation (insert fire engine in place of motorcycle) with L as we both want the kids to get along well so they can entertain each other while we chat.

I’d rate the sharing success in this outing at about a 5 on the scale of 1 to 10 which is a huge improvement over any past attempt on our part. Neutral territory. Lots of distractions. Nearly identical toys and a place to run. L’s mom and I actually were able to do some chatting for once.
The highlight of the day other than the taking off and landing of course was the thrill of seeing a tow truck lift a car. Well, that and the construction equipment on the way too and from the airport. The boys were thrilled.

But why do I feel so lame about a playdate at the airport?