The Power of Ketchup

Yesterday, when I went to pick up Ishu from school, I popped my head into his classroom and then took a seat outside.

It always takes him a minute to wrap things up. Finish whatever activity he’s doing, clean it up, and then gather the zillion pieces of artwork he’s cut up and created over the course of the day. (For real. Sometimes one of the teachers will have to walk out with him to carry some of it because his little hands can only hold so much). 

As usual, I helped him tuck everything into his backpack and then point to his shoes to prompt him to switch into his outside shoes (yes, Mr. Rogers style. They’ve got inside shoes and outside shoes). I’m used to reminding him a few times, because once the structure of the day falls away, he’s distracted by ALL THE THINGS.

In the middle of prompt #2, his eyes widened. On a chair nearby sat a ketchup bottle. Forgotten. Probably left out for the cafeteria folks.

He gasped like he discovered treasure. He scooped it up, hugged it to his chest, and shouted, “Mama! Mama! WE HAD KETCHUP WITH OUR LUNCH TODAY…”

I smiled. Nodded. “Ok………..and….”

But then he beamed even bigger. “And I GOT TO BE THE ONE TO SERVE IT TO EVERYONE.” 

Then he did a little dance on the way to switching his shoes.

“BEST. DAY. EVER!” he exclaimed as he pumped one fist in the air.

HAHAHAHAHHAAHA.

And just like that, ketchup became the highlight of his week. Who would have thought?