So much more than a blurter

I have a favorite baseball field in Moses Lake. It is at Lakeview.
Watching Merit and Will play there remains a highlight in my mind. Chasing Hazel, pregnant with Oren at some of these games... and then pushing Oren in the stroller as Hazel played at the park. I would try to watch the game from behind center field while pushing Hazel on the swings.
Merit and Migs were umpires yesterday at that favorite field at Lakeview. My big boys are too old to play there now - it seemed so strange to see my fifteen year old son as an umpire there when not very long ago he was a nine year old playing there.
As I approached the field,  boy in right field hollered "Hi Mrs. Jansen!" I know this boy well from subbing in his class. He likes to try to mess around in class. A pencil tossing, distracting kid, who often blurts... He is a tough one in the classroom. I saw a different kid in right field.
I watched him closely. He looked over several times. He was always in ready position. At the end of the game he hollered "bye Mrs. Jansen!" And I was thankful I had the opportunity to see this child outside of the classroom.
Today I subbed kinder. I am not sure how he knew I was in that kinder classroom, but he came in at the end of the day. We talked baseball for a while and then he told me that his mom recently had stomach surgery, removing masses. He told me he cried when he saw her in the hospital. He told me she felt like she might vomit and the doctors did not want her too because it would strain her stomach and muscles and probably incisions. He told me he is the oldest and that he needs to make breakfast and dinner. He is worried about his mom and he said she says she is in a lot of pain. He is trying to help her. He is trying to help his family.
I had sort of decided two weeks ago that this kid drove me bonkers.
Yesterday and today I saw something very different.
He does not drive me bonkers.
I suppose this is a lesson to never "decide" what I think of someone.
Sometimes we need to see people in a different environment to have a better sense of who they are.
And when we show them we WANT to KNOW who they are, we see a better version of that person.

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