A breakthrough moment

I finally had a breakthrough moment with Aaron last week.

It was Friday, raining and cold outside. I decided to have lunch with my kids in our gym, so I sat down with three of them, the quieter ones. We started to talk about food and what they ate at home. Then Aaron, who rarely ever talks to me, looked up with a big smile and exclaimed, "I like Chinese food!"

I looked at him in surprise. "Really? What is your favorite Chinese dish?"

"Orange chicken!"

In a playful moment, I looked at him with concern. "Aaron, orange chicken is NOT Chinese food!" He looked at me confused. "That's like saying Taco Bell is Mexican food!"

His eyes grew wide, "NO! King Taco is Mexican food!" And we both laughed.

And, somehow, through that one silly moment, a bit more trust was built. He'll actually look at me and smile now and, yesterday, I even had the opportunity to read something he wrote to the class because he made a connection in our reading that no one else did. It was a moment that left me smiling for the rest of the day.