What do you expect? It's from the thrift store!

E took Bridget to her soccer practice this evening. He said it went very well. He had taken Bridget to the park a few times to practice and she seemed more confident about her skills today. She has aspirations of becoming a goalie. E was initially very against the idea. I acknowledged that was his desire and not hers. He decided that he would try supporting her and see what happens. I'm so proud of him for being so willing to respect her opinion. It's wonderful to see him supporting her and not trying to control her.

Owen asked if he could go along to play in the parking lot during practice. E initially hesitated. It was kind of funny. He said, "Do I have to drive the van so I can take his bike?" My response was, "That depends on how consensual you want to be." I didn't hear another word about it. He took the van. :-)

Upon returning from practice E and Owen relayed quite a disturbing account of Owen's experiences with some other siblings at the practice. Apparently three other boys were teasing Owen. They would ask him to play a game then change the password and not allow him to be included. Instead of getting angry, Owen got bored and walked away. The boys kept asking Owen to play and he declined. He rode his bike around by himself. At one point the boys, all riding scooters, attempted to confront him on his bike. One boy kicked his bike and said, "Your chain is all rusty." Owen, not realizing the boy was attempting to tease him, replied, "What do you expect? I got it from the thrift store for like 5 bucks" Then he rode away.

I praised him for a job well done and he totally called me on it. He told me he didn't like being admired (praised) because it made Bridget mad and then she would be mean to him. I apologized for praising him. I told him I was so happy that he had been able to handle the situation in a manner that made him happy. E turned to me and said, "We should be praising each other. It's good to know we did something right today." He gave me a high five and a big smile.