Little & Big

Even small children are known by their actions.

—Proverbs 20:11

Henry was sick over the weekend, and he wanted to sit on my lap and have my arms wrapped around him as tightly as I could. I didn’t complain for a second. Then last night he said, “I’ve been thinking about the bad choices I made today. I’m really sorry, Mom. I’m going to make better choices tomorrow.” What more can one expect from any adult than that? What a big man!

He wears a little Timex, even though he can’t tell time, and most days he wears a clip-on tie. His favorite jeans these days are, in his words, his “rock ’n’ roller skinnies.” Seriously. Five might be the perfect age for a human—smart and sweet, the perfect mash-up of little and big.

Aaron and I remind each other that kids aren’t vanity projects, and they’re not extensions of our own images. This is especially helpful when Henry goes to school in rainbow-striped pajama bottoms, cowboy boots, and a Chicago Bears sweatshirt that doesn’t quite fit over his belly. He’s a person, not a paper doll. We’re his parents, not his marketing team. And being his parents is one of our favorite things.