Brotherly Love

Yesterday Henry was having a hard day. He came home from school and was mad at everyone. He was yelling and just generally being mean. After we had a snack it was time for piano.  When we got to piano I sent Sadie and Samuel in and Henry and I talked for a bit. He told me that he was upset because he had lied to me this week one day when he didn't have homework. He really did have homework, but he couldn't find it in his messy desk when the bell rang. He also was feeling too much pressure because everyone has so many high expectations of him. It was also bothering him that he thought no one in his family liked him. Here is his thought process on that one: In Sadie's prayers she prays for people to get better (this started when we were all not feeling well, and since she is four years old, her prayers are quite repetitive) and she never mentions Henry. So, we talked for awhile and then went inside. As soon as we walked in Samuel said "Hi, William." Of course since he didn't say "Hi, Henry" this was another cause of angst.

On the way home Henry mentioned that Samuel doesn't like him. I vehemently disagreed (as did Samuel) and told him that Samuel had written a paper at school about his friend. They each had to choose a friend to write about and Samuel had picked Henry. Thankfully, I had kept the paper, so as soon as we got home Samuel showed it to him. It is as follows:

I don't know what the picture is of, but I do know that the effect of this simple paper was amazing. You could almost see the love that Henry felt. He turned it over and wrote his own "story."

"My friend is Samuel his best talent is sharing. He is an awesome friend" On the bottom, upside down, it says "true story."