I remembered an incident many winters ago. It was snowing and David asked me to drive him five blocks to kindergarten. But it was just too hard to pack up the two younger ones, so I told him he’d have to manage on his own.
The second he left, the wind began to howl and I felt sick with guilt. It was a long afternoon for me. The first thing he said when he returned home was, “Why didn’t you drive me, Mommy? I was late. The wind pushed me back. I kept stopping and leaning against the trees.”
I nearly died when I heard that. I wanted to gather him up in my arms and say, “Oh you poor baby! What a horrible mother you have.”
But I didn’t. I said, “Wow! What a walk you’ve had! All those long blocks in that bitter wind. That took endurance! That’s the kind of thing you’d expect from Abe Lincoln, not a six-year old boy!”
