Leo

Leo buried his toes in the sand, then wiggled them free. He jumped up and tossed 2 handfuls of sand into the air, before he took off running. He circled laps until he was so dizzy that he had no choice but to collapse along the shore. Leo rolled onto his back and moved his arms up and down against the sand as his legs went side to side.

“I’m making a sand angel,” he giggled.

Leo felt like he might burst from excitement. After waiting all the long, gray winter, he was finally at the beach. The sky above was brilliantly blue, and the sun was shining so brightly that it was almost blinding. He couldn’t go swimming, because the lake was still partially frozen, but that didn’t matter. The sand was toasty beneath his feet, and with his new, long-handled sand shovel, he could dig as many holes as he wanted.

Leo popped up from making his sand angel. He glanced behind him and saw that his sister, Greta, was making a mountain with sand. After watching her for a few moments, he ran over to where she was playing. When she failed to notice him, Leo felt something bubbling up inside of him. He lifted his foot and stomped all over her pile of sand until it was completely flat.

“Leoooo! Nooooo!” Greta yelled.

She reached over and pushed Leo, who began to cry.

“You wrecked my volcano. You always ruin everything!” Greta shouted.

Leo was sad and confused. He had only wanted to play with Greta. Why didn’t she understand that? Why hadn’t he been able to stop himself from stomping on her volcano?

“Leo! That is so naughty! You don’t wreck other peoples work. Apologize, right now!” Mom scolded him.

Leo felt himself shrink. That wasn’t what he was trying to do at all. He had just wanted to play with Greta. 

“Sorry,” Leo murmured. 

“Don’t do it ever again!” Greta growled at him. 

Leo picked up his long shovel and shuffled along until he came to the perfect digging spot. He drove the blade of his shovel into the dry, gritty, sand.  Once he had a full scoop, he flung it in front of him.  He did this again and again. When his shovel finally hit the dark, wet stuff, Leo stopped. He knelt down and pushed the palms of his hands into the cool, moist sand. He raked his fingers across where he had just dug, and was fascinated by the lines they left behind. Leo stood up and began to scoop dry sand back into the hole. Once it was filled, he shuffled across the beach until he came to another perfect digging spot. Leo dug further this time. He made a hole so deep and wide he could stand in it. He stood in his hole and stomped the wet sand until it was packed down flat. Then, he picked up his shovel and filled the hole with dry sand.

Leo turned to look at Greta, who was now building a city of sand castles. He ran over to where she was playing, his shovel dragging behind him. He stopped right in front of her.

“Go away, Leo!” Greta shrieked.

Greta’s words hurt Leo’s feelings. He only wanted to play with her, but every time he tried, she screamed at him.

The familiar bubbling sensation rose up in Leo’s chest. One by one, he struck each of Greta’s sandcastles with his shovel, destroying them. Greta pulled Leo to the ground, then kicked him. Leo burst into tears.

“Leo! It’s not okay that she kicked you, but you have got to listen! Don’t wreck her stuff! You can’t keep doing this!” Mom scolded, once again. 

“You’re a terrible brother!” Greta howled.

Leo felt himself shrink. He sat on the ground and hugged his knees.

“Greta, that’s not kind,” Mom warned.

Greta scowled.

“Leo, if you do that one more time, we are leaving the beach,” Mom threatened.

“Okay, I won’t do it again,” Leo promised. 

He stood up, and with his shovel in hand, walked toward the water. Leo scooped up some sand and flung it into the lake. He liked the splashing sound he heard when the sand hit the thawed parts of the water.

Greta saw what Leo was doing and skipped over to him. 

“Can I try?” she asked.

“No. I will hit you with my shovel,” Leo told her.

He raised the shovel over his head and started to swing it at Greta. Just as he was about to make contact with her head, Mom’s hand grabbed the shovel away. Leo immediately regretted his actions. The bubbles in his chest popped all at once. He hadn’t actually wanted to hurt Greta. He just wanted a chance to fling sand without her taking over. 

“Leo, that is IT. Your behavior is unacceptable. We are going home,” Mom said.

She packed up the shovels and pails and guided the children to the car. Once everything was loaded in the trunk, and both Greta and Leo were safely buckled, Mom started in with a lecture.

“Nice boys don’t behave like that, Leo. You were so bad. You will not be watching any tv today, and we will not be going out for ice cream with Grandma. I am so disappointed in how you are choosing to act,” she said.

Leo sobbed when he heard what his punishments would be. He wasn’t bad, he was a nice boy. Why couldn’t she see that?

Leo got another lecture from Dad after dinner that night. He fell asleep thinking horrible thoughts about himself.

When Leo came down to the kitchen the next morning, he heard Mom telling Amy, his babysitter, all of the things he had done wrong the day before. His heart sank.

“Hi, Buddy. Would you like some waffles?” Amy chirped.

He couldn’t meet Amy’s eyes after knowing that Mom told her all the terrible things he had done. 

“Yes, please,” Leo answered.

Waffles were his favorite breakfast food, and Amy always made his with a little butter and cinnamon sugar on top, just the way he liked. Knowing that Amy made his waffles a special way for him warmed his heart and him began to feel a little better.

“Be good today, Leo. I don’t want any bad reports,” Mom said, as she kissed him and Greta goodbye.

Greta had already eaten breakfast and was sitting at the table drawing with markers. Leo quickly ate his waffles, wiped his hands on a napkin, and then scooted his chair right next to his sister.

“No, Leo!” Greta whined.

“I’m just going to watch you,” Leo told her.

“No! I don’t want you by me!” Greta snarled.

The bubbles in Leo’s chest were on fire. He picked up an open marker and scribbled all over Greta’s paper. Greta screamed before pushing him off his chair. Leo hit the ground with a thud and tears started flowing.

“You ruined my picture. You ruin everything!” Greta shouted.

Amy picked Leo up off the ground and pulled him into a tight hug. Once he had calmed down a bit, she turned to Greta.

“I want you to go wait for me in your room while I talk to Leo,” she said, calmly.

“It’s his fault! He ruined my picture!” Greta snapped.

“We’ll talk about it after I make sure he’s okay,” Amy told her.

Greta stomped off to her room and slammed the door.

“Is your body more hurt, or are your feelings more hurt?” Amy asked Leo.

“That was scary. I hurt my knee,” Leo sobbed.

Amy pulled an ice pack out of the freezer, then sat with him on the couch. She pressed the cold pack against Leo’s injured leg.

“Can you tell me what happened before Greta pushed you off the chair?” Amy asked him. 

“I don’t know,” Leo sniffled.

“To me, it looked like you wanted to draw with Greta. When she said she didn’t want you to be near her, it seems like that made you sad. Were you wanting to draw with Greta?” Amy asked.

“Yeah,” Leo said.

“Did it make you sad when she said you couldn’t?” Amy wondered.

“No. It made me mad,” Leo corrected her.

“It’s okay to be mad, but it’s not okay to scribble all over other people’s papers. You need to use words to tell Greta how it makes you feel when she won’t include you,” Amy said.

“Okay. I won’t scribble on her paper again,” Leo promised.

“Why don’t you go play in the play room while I go talk to Greta,” Amy suggested.

Leo hopped to the play room. He pulled out the wooden blocks and began to build. Amy opened Greta’s door to find herself being glared at by Greta.

“He’s the worst brother in the world!” Greta spit out her words.

“It’s not okay that he scribbled on your paper, but it’s also not okay that you pushed him off the chair. You both need to work on using words to express your feelings, instead of hurting each other. It’s okay to feel all feelings, but it’s never okay to hurt someone,” Amy said.

“My picture is ruined,” Greta grumbled.

“I’m sorry that happened. You can make another one,” Amy reminded her.

“No, I don’t want to. I want to play in the play room,” Greta insisted. 

Amy and Greta walked to the play room together. Leo was building towers as tall as he could reach, and then promptly knocking them over. Greta pulled out a bin of Duplo blocks and started to build. 

Leo scooted closer to Greta. He reached out to knocked over her creation, but was blocked by Amy’s gentle hand.

“Leo, what are you feeling right now. Are you mad?” Amy asked.

“No,” Leo said.

“Do you want to play with Greta?” she tried again.

“Yeah. I want to help you,” Leo said.

“I don’t want you to help me,” Greta snapped.

Leo reached over with the intention to pinch Greta.

“Leo, are you feeling sad right now?” Amy wanted to know.

“Yeah. I’m sad because she won’t let me help. I want to play with her,” Leo explained.

“Greta, did you hear him? He is feeling sad. He would like to play with you,” Amy said.

Greta made a face. Then she remembered what Amy had said in her bedroom. 

“Leo, I need some space right now. I want to build by myself. But how about if I read to you when I am finished building,” Greta offered.

“Okay,” Leo agreed.

Greta did exactly as she said she would. After she built a castle out of Duplo blocks, she read 4 books to Leo.

“That was really good using your words, both of you. How does it feel to be kind to each other?” Amy asked.

“It feels nice,” Leo said.

“It’s good,” Greta agreed.

“We’re going to keep working on this. I’ll be here to help you, but I know you’ll have it figured out in no time,” Amy assured them.

With Amy to help them, Leo and Greta learned how to talk about their feelings instead of hurting each other. After a few weeks of her constant, gentle, reminders, Leo was able to his words to express himself most of the time, and Greta was more patient with her little brother.

It turns out that Leo wasn’t bad, naughty, or terrible. He was just a little boy who was still learning how to exist in the world. With a little loving guidance, and a lot of patience, he was able to figure it out.