I have two nephews... 15 years old and 7. They are absolutely super. There is something in little boys so that when they see a need, they jump in. In my limited experience of 28 years, there seems to be a time when men fade into themselves and don't always offer their strength anymore. Definitely not all men, but watching my nephews jump in with all their boyish prowess is beautiful and manly and endearing.
We went to the zoo yesterday with my nephew (7). He ran around snapping photos of the animals with his camera like a pro. There is an awesome playground at the zoo and us adults got a cold beverage and sat at the picnic table while he ran around to his hearts content. Soon, some friends came and there were 3 other girls that he knew to play with on the playground. He comes running over to us! "Breylin needs someone to push her on the swing!" Without getting up, Breylin's dad glanced over... "I'm sure you can push her buddy." and went back to his cigarette and adult chat. Ethan, ever ready, runs back to the damsel, sitting on her swing, glancing around as Daddy doesn't get up. Ethan charges to her aid and gives her 2 mighty big pushes (this girl is nearly as big as him and his 7-year-old-self) and then jumps on his own swing and catches up.
In the car on the way home, AC broke... like ya do in Jersey, the windows were DOWN, which gave my sister-in-law and brother some breeze in the front seat and created a wind tunnel of death in the back. Maddie gave Ethan a blanket and when I got cold and was crouching down to avoid the air, Ethan in all his ingenious boyness, holds the blanket up in front of the window to block the wind from me. The frozen damsel looked over and her hero had an ironman blanket held up to defend her from the freezing blast! And then we made a tent and made animal noises underneath it and talked about the zoo.
My other nephew, though not quite so heroic as little E-man, went about at the family bqq quietly asking everyone if he could help them at the age of 15. He did half a dozen odd little jobs for everyone from me, to the grill man, to my grandmother, always offering his seat, always standing if not enough chairs, always getting little things from inside for people, waiting for everyone else to eat first, helping clean up other people's plates. This is not something I usually encounter. I'm so impressed by these awesome boys and I hope they keep this sense of active-love in their hearts as they grow up. If more and more young boys (and girls) live like this, I have great hope for our world.
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| not really my nephew |
In the car on the way home, AC broke... like ya do in Jersey, the windows were DOWN, which gave my sister-in-law and brother some breeze in the front seat and created a wind tunnel of death in the back. Maddie gave Ethan a blanket and when I got cold and was crouching down to avoid the air, Ethan in all his ingenious boyness, holds the blanket up in front of the window to block the wind from me. The frozen damsel looked over and her hero had an ironman blanket held up to defend her from the freezing blast! And then we made a tent and made animal noises underneath it and talked about the zoo.
My other nephew, though not quite so heroic as little E-man, went about at the family bqq quietly asking everyone if he could help them at the age of 15. He did half a dozen odd little jobs for everyone from me, to the grill man, to my grandmother, always offering his seat, always standing if not enough chairs, always getting little things from inside for people, waiting for everyone else to eat first, helping clean up other people's plates. This is not something I usually encounter. I'm so impressed by these awesome boys and I hope they keep this sense of active-love in their hearts as they grow up. If more and more young boys (and girls) live like this, I have great hope for our world.
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