A man among boys

Pete and Elsie's grand parents gave them a swing set for Christmas. It is one of those big ol' wooden ones that comes with a million screws, nuts, and bolts, a thousand pieces of lumber in various lengths and widths, and even a spiral slide. The good people at Menard's dropped the enormous bundle of wood and accessories in our driveway on Sunday afternoon, and Pete was hoping to be playing on it sometime before bed. Realistically, it might be close to a month before it is all stained, cut, and assembled, but I got to work as quickly as possible.

Last night, I headed into the back yard to begin the staining process. Amanda finished putting the kids to bed and came out to keep me company once they were both asleep (I know… someone call the nearest social worker). About 20 minutes later, I thought I heard Pete crying. Amanda heard it too and went to investigate. Apparently Pete had woken up, and then woke Elsie up as well. They both went up to our room to find us, and when we weren't there panic ensued. They made their way back downstairs together and were nearly to the back door when Amanda heard them.

Through his tears, in the toughest, bravest three-year-old voice he could muster, he told his sister, "It's OK, Else. Just stay with me." In his little world, mommy and daddy were gone and nothing was OK. Still, he knew he had to be brave and that his sister would be fine as long as she stayed with him.

That's the kind of thing that made me say through my own tears, in the toughest, bravest daddy voice I could muster, "I am so proud of you, son. Thanks for taking care of your sister."