Did You Bring Your Listen?

I've been helping out my daughter-in-law this past week since the birth of our newest little princess. She came in three weeks early at a whopping 5 lbs 4 oz. She's a tiny little thing.
Dude #1 needed a ride to school and back home. He's in Kindergarten. This is a hard time for him and his brother because the show has shifted to a new star for awhile.
When I picked him up from school, Dude #1's teacher greeted me with the pronouncement that he was not listening in class. Evidently he slid into his own little world of Mario Brothers - his favorite thing in all the world . I asked him why he wasn't listening, and he said it was too hard. Translation - "I just don't want to deal with reality right now. Something new has been added to my world and I want something I know about." Poor kid.
The next morning when I picked him up, I asked him if he brought his listen with him. He said yes. Off to school we went. But alas, again his teacher told me he wasn't listening. She was concerned.
We talked on the short trip home about the benefits of listening - he'd learn enough to make it to 1st grade and then - amazing - on to high school just like his Aunt who watches him on occasion. That seemed to perk his interest. I pontificated more, hoping he was - well, know know - listening. And then he repeated back to me something I said and we went into a moment of wild celebration about how he'd just listened. He was excited.

Next morning. I asked him if he brought his listen with him. He said yes. I'm sure mommy and daddy encouraged him to listen to his teachers too.
Good news! Good report. He listened in class. We spent the 10 minutes it took to go home talking about how proud I was of him and how proud he was too. He asked me if it made my heart happy. I told him it did. Very much.