Bad share, good share...

On Sunday, we went to Brook Hollow for dinner with The Fabulous Auntie Mimi, Uncle Bud and Grandpa Buddy.  Banner ate until we thought he was going to pop, and then wanted to go outside and run around.  Since I had JUST gotten a plate from the buffet (Trevor ate first while I cut all of Banner's grilled cheese and fruit into teeny-tiny, toddler-approved bite sizes), the hub-ster volunteered for the first shift of outdoor fun.

Since Brook Hollow is a country club, it didn't take long for Trevor to find an abandoned golf ball in the bushes for Banner to play with.  Have I mentioned Banner's obsession with balls?  No?  Well, he loves them.  Trevor's been teaching him to throw them, and the little guy can spend hours playing a weird little version of fetch with himself. 

(And, yes, I realize that several sentences in the last paragraph sound dirty.  To which I respond:  OMG, BANNER IS SIXTEEN MONTHS OLD!)

(Gutter brains)

Anyway, back to the golf ball.  Banner was happily playing throw, chase, retrieve with his ball until a couple of girls wondered out on the putting green nearby.  They were older (probably 4 and 7 or something like that), but Banner immediately identified them as potential playmates.  Except, like most men, he had no idea how to approach them or engage them in play or conversation.  So, instead, he just stood awkwardly in their vicinity and copied everything they did.  Which was pretty humorous since the girls were practicing their cheerleading/tumbling moves.  Hence, this photo:

They lie on the ground.  I don't get it.
But I lie on the ground, too.  Just in case.

The two girls were very sweet, though, and put up with their pint sized copy cat without a single complaint (much unlike THIS similar situation back at Easter involving several boys).

And then this little guy happened:

Mimi and I had just walked outside to relieve Trevor, and I thought at first that this little boy wanted to play with Banner.  Banner, who is not picky at all when it comes to playmates, was more than happy to oblige.  But then it became very obvious that the boy's only interest in Banner was his golf ball.  WHICH THE LITTLE PUNK PROCEEDED TO STEAL RIGHT OUT OF BANNER'S HAND IN FRONT OF US.

Banner, of course, thought the little boy was playing until he tried to get his ball back, and the little boy screamed, "MINE!" and ran away.

I thought Mimi was going to pound his a$$.

Luckily she didn't need to.  The two girls saw what happened, asked if the boy was Banner's brother (we said no), and then marched right up to the little golf ball thief and demanded that he return the ball to "that sweet little baby over there".

And, publicly shamed by the opposite sex, he did.

But the best part was about five minutes later.  We were heading back inside, and the little ball thief was sulking - ball-less - next to the sidewalk.  As we walked past him, I asked Banner if he wanted to "share" his golf ball with the boy.  Without hesitation, Banner stretched out his arm and handed it to his nemesis. Just like that.  It was awesome.  And once he gave it to him, Banner didn't even look back.  It was like he knew that the golf ball meant something more to the other boy than it did to him.

I don't think I've ever been so proud.

And the little boy?  He said a stunned "Thank You", and just stood there for a second watching us walk away.  I don't think anyone was more surprised than he was.

Of course, when I told Trevor, all he could say was, "YOU LET THE LITTLE B@STARD HAVE IT?  That was a SMU golf ball you gave away!"

Obviously, the concept of sharing means more to some than others...