Chasey-Plug

We had dinner at Chik-fil-a tonight, which is super fun now because Chase is finally independent enough to play on the indoor playground by himself.  We can sit at our table and he and Ian go into the play area and have at it while Bryan and I enjoy adult conversation.

Well, kind of adult.  A lot of our conversations revolve around what the kids have done that day, how many poopy diapers Chase has had, and if Gavin has projectile vomited on anyone lately. 

But that has nothing to do with my story.  

Anyhoo.  The play structure has one giant step/ladder thingy going up to some tubey-crawl thing on top and a big yellow spiral slide going down.   Chase is just too short still to make it up the steps (they are big and platform-like), so he discovered on his own that he can climb all the way UP the slide to the top.  It is totally cute.  The only problem is, he jams up traffic going down the slide.  

So, at one point, we notice that we can't see any kids anywhere.  Chase and Ian are gone, as are the 6 or 7 other kids out there.  Then we realize that they are all trying to go down the slide, only there is a Chasey-plug at the end of it.  

I am almost out of my seat, ready to go save him from some kid who will probably just muscle him out the end of the slide onto his head, when I hear a voice from another table who has a direct view of the end of the slide.

"Look!   They are all giving him hugs!!!"

Yes, all the kids were trying to get out of the slide, but one at a time as they passed Chase on the way out, they were hugging him.  Not pushing or shoving.  They were all taking care of him.

Admittedly, I have fears of kids ridiculing him, mocking him, even hurting him, when I am not there to protect him someday.  But maybe the rest of the world will be a little bit like the big slide at Chik-fil-a.  

*sigh*