Hello and welcome back to another episode of Train for a Great Life. So there's this little thing that's been going on for about a year now and I only just figured it out. My son Leonardo's locker which is really just a cubby with three compartments but the school calls them lockers is right beside a girl named Ellie, and for as long as I can remember he's always called her Ellie Locker Every Single Time time, and it was never just a one-off, it became part of the routine. We'd walk down the row of cubbies with each name and photo and go through naming every kid like he was taking attendance. It was adorable, sure, but also just impressive. It started young like way earlier than we expected him to know and remember that many names, even kids in other classes. The kid has a memory, but Ellie, she was never just Ellie, always Ellie Locker.

It was said in the sweetest little tone, like it was her full name and he just loved saying it. We'd ask him about it and he just loved saying it. We'd ask him about it. Do you call her that? Because maybe you put something in her locker by mistake once and you're doubling down that this is her locker and not yours. No, he'd say Did you maybe take something of hers out of her locker? No, and it was always this gentle almost amused, no, like he was wondering why we didn't get it, so we just rolled with it. He'd even call her that when they saw her in the hallway or the elevator Hi, ellie Locker, clear as day. And here's the thing His speech has always been pretty advanced for his age. We have strangers come up to us in public just to say how clearly he speaks, and then he'll hop into conversations with them and other adults like it's nothing. So when he says something we usually understand what it means, or we assume that we do. But then this week it finally clicked. He wasn't saying Ellie Locker, he was saying Ellie Walker. That's her last name, ellie Walker. He's been saying it the whole time. We just weren't hearing it quite right. And this whole time he was right. He knew her last name. He knew he was calling her by her full name for a year. We just didn't realize it because it came out a little more like locker. Now here's the part that stuck with me.

Leonardo is three. He's still figuring out how to pronounce certain words, but he's also incredibly observant. He picks up on things that we don't. He remembers details that we forget, and more often than not, when he doubles down on something or gently challenges us, he's not wrong, even when it seems like maybe he is, and I think there's a bigger message in that. Don't assume that you're right just because you're older or smarter or more experienced. Even when you think you've got the facts, sometimes there's something you missed, and sometimes the three-year-old beside you, who's still working on the finer points of articulation, actually has the answer. So next time you catch yourself dismissing someone whether it's a kid or a co-worker or a friend because they must have it wrong, maybe pause for a second, ask one more question, be open to the idea that they might know something that you don't, because Ellie Locker might actually be Ellie Walker, and sometimes the little people in your life are just calmly waiting for you to catch up. I'll see you in the gym.