September 08, 2003 - 7:29 p.m.
Just when you think you're raising a couple greedy little "gimme" monsters, they suddenly display amazing generosity.
When Zachary was about Marcus's age, I started letting him watch the Teletubbies on tv. He was so taken by them that my mother bought him a Tinky Winky doll from Toys R Us. He wanted all four, but we limited him to one. Later, after Marcus developed an affection for the Tinky Winky doll, too, we realized that not purchasing more and storing them in a closet somewhere may have been a mistake. The plain, stuffed dolls were discontinued sometime shortly after we bought Zachary's. So I browsed ebay, found a "gently used" set of all four and ordered them, certain that there would now be enough for the boys to share and be happy.
I was wrong.
The minute the package arrived in the mail, the fights began. Both Marcus and Zachary wanted to claim all the dolls for themselves, though Zack was more determined and generally ended up carting them all off to his room, away from baby brother. We tried assigning each child two dolls, but that didn't work well.
Tonight, Zachary began arranging the stuffed animals in his bed. Pooh Bear and Tinky Winky are absolutely necessary for sleep. Dipsy is often required as well. Sometimes Piglet or the Elephant. Tonight he picked up both Tinky Winkys and laid them on his pillow. I tucked him into bed and we sang a couple of songs. Then he looked very serious for a moment and handed me one of the Tinky Winky dolls.
"This one's Marcus's," he announced.
I told him that was a very nice thing to give to his little brother and I would deliver it to him, as Marcus was already asleep in his crib. Zachary nodded, still very serious.
I don't know if Tinky Winky will still be Marcus's tomorrow, but for tonight I'm rather proud of my son.
