Elio has a will of steel. And until yesterday, I didn't totally realize that his stubborn head mixed with being a mischievous 4-year old can be quite dangerous. Elio had a friend over, and they decided to play outside. I was tired, so I thought it'd be ok to lie on the couch for 15 minutes or so before going outside to check on them.
When I opened the door, there they were, front and center, on the ROOF of our porch. Elio, seeing absolutely nothing wrong with what he had done, waved at me. I implored them that they needed to get down right away... not realizing how they got up! It turned out they had opened the gate to the front yard, and climbed on a pile of rocks to get on top of the fence that goes around our house. Then, they shimmied down the fence, and climbed the bars to the top of the roof.
I demanded they both get down, and told Elio I would help them, but he rebuffed my offer, so I just stood behind him with my hands cradles, ready to catch any falling bodies.
Afterwards, when I was telling his friend's dad what happened, the friend's dad asked his son, "Why did you go on the roof?"
"Because Elio told me to."
Great... I'm thinking, the authoritarian, tyrannical friend.
Then the dad went on, "So weren't you scared on the roof?"
"Elio said he would protect me."
"And how was Elio going to protect you?"
"He told me not to jump."
I turned and looked at Elio... He nodded very seriously, affirming that he had been earnestly trying to protect his friend by telling him to not jump off the roof.
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