I was so touched by my little boy last night that I wanted to share this sweet story. Yes, I will say, I am incredibly proud but in the midst of so many heartbreaking stories of bullying and teen suicide I feel it's a sweet and hopeful story to share.
Let me begin by saying that my six year old son is "All Boy" as they say. However, I will admit that he has a sensitive, empathetic side and does not like to see people hurting in any way. But should you offer him anything pink, girly or something that slightly resembles a girl themed item and he will boldly shout "NO, I don't want that, that's for girls". It amazes me how quickly kids learn boy vs. girl in school. Preschool, might I add. He currently has a SERIOUS, but secret, crush on an older woman, she's in first grade, he's in Kindergarten. He no longer has many girl "playmates" and we just had our first all boy birthday party at his request. All of this to say that he definitely has boundaries and opinions on the subject when it pertains to himself. Which makes the story that much sweeter....
Last night we were finishing up his Valentines for school today. We had purchased two sets of Valentines. For the girls, we picked out some cute monkey Valentine’s Day cards that come with a cute monkey tattoo and for the boys we chose Star Wars Valentines that include a Star Wars pencil. As we were separating out the cards and names of his classmates, my little boy said to me, in a matter of fact tone "you know Mommy, a boy in my class (leaving the name out) really likes pink and girl stuff and I think he would be really happy getting the girly monkey Valentine". He said it with a thoughtful heart and absolutely no judgment. Trying to be cool, I kept my head down and said "OK, great, let's pick out the one you think he'd like best". Inside I was beaming and I had to pause and smile to myself (and later offer a big-just-because-hug). For me, it was a proud moment. For him, it was just any other moment and it made him happy to make his friend happy.
As we all know, a child can say some of the funniest, most candid and honest things. But, knowing my son's feelings of pink girly stuff for himself, yet not having any judgment for another boy's differences makes me so proud today. I only hope that as he continues through his school years he can maintain this respect of differences in his peers and people in general.
