Recognizing Something Special

 

She always has her blanket, even outside.  I might suggest she leave it in, but she usually pretends she doesn't hear me.  I might suggest she leave it on the porch lest it get dirty, but she just shakes it off when it drops and continues on her way.  It's her something special and while I usually ask that things like this be left at home or in backpacks, it never causes a problem, so it stays. 

When she decided to climb to the top of the slide and 'ride in the car' with her friend, she handed him the blanket and said, "Here you go."  He's never really had a something special, just a variety of things that are special for a few days until the next item becomes the special one.  I wondered if he knew that this was her special thing.  He took it and said, "She gave this to me to put on the porch for her."  He tossed it onto a small table from a foot or so away and said, "Right there is fine."  And he turned around to go back to playing.

Before he was off the porch, he paused, turned around and went back to the blanket.  He picked it up, and placed it down gently on the table, smoothing and straightening.  "There we go," he said, "that's better."