As Camden has gotten older, his personality has really come to light. Quick witted, clever, loyal, courageous and extremely passionate, to name many of his qualities.
He's also earned the nickname (in this house and on the ice) the "Defender of Justice", as he is so deeply offended by any injustice, mistreatment or general unfairness that he witnesses, and by God will you hear about it from him.
We were sitting down for dinner tonight and Camden came home from playing outside, 10 minutes late. I asked where he had been and he plopped down on his part of the dining table bench with a resolute well let me tell you where I was face that only Camden can have. We started eating (kung pao chicken stir fry, rice and pot stickers in case you wanted to know) and Cam announced:
"WELL, there's a new jerk in the neighborhood."
To which the rest of our eyebrows at the table rise suspiciously.
"Oh? Who is it?"
"Some kid named Bobby" (name changed for anonymity)
"So what's his problem?"
"WELL, Bo, Jimmy and Jimmy's sister Jane (names still changed) and I were playing on the hill when Bobby shows up with a stick and started hitting Jimmy's sister! And she's like, FOUR.
"How old is this kid Bobby?"
"Ummm, like five or six."
At which Calen chimes in "Five or six?! Camden. You could have taken him and ended it."
And then I had to wave Calen off because I wanted to see how this story developed and told Cam to continue with a so then what happened.
"So I told him to knock it off and then he wouldn't stop whacking her legs so I snatched his stick and I told him "We can do this the easy way or the hard way."
Cue me choking on a piece of rice, having to cough and splutter amidst my surprise and suppressing laughter, and interrupt his story.
"Wait wait wait. What is the easy way and what is the hard way?!"
And Cam, casual as can be as he bites a potsticker, goes "Well the easy way was that he leaves and goes home."
"And the hard way??"
"We carry him to his house."
"Camden, you can't carry kids to their houses."
"Don't worry, he chose the easy way."
And when I asked if that was the end of that, he had more to say.
"No, later he came back, with his stick and this time I told him I was going to tell his mom and he started screaming no so I went and told his mom and she said 'I'll handle it'" and that was the end of it. Then Jimmy and I did a happy dance because Bobby got in trouble."
And thus, the Aviation Hill Sheriff was appointed. Defender of Justice, not afraid to carry perpetrators home to their mamas.
The sheriff getting a proper clean shave before his next patrol of the neighborhood |