Budding Chivalry

Our William is getting so big! He can do so many big-boy things: ride a bike, use the potty (most of the time), express his ideas using actual words, etc. He is also quite literally big. He has HUGE hands, and his feet are nearly the size of Eliana's. He seems to get taller by the minute (my dad cites his rapid growth as the cause of the many bumps and bruises on his head--he's growing so quickly he doesn't have an accurate sense of his head position). As I've watched his growth, I've often thought to myself that I'm glad he has such a sweet personality so he won't use his large size to harm others.

I failed to consider his loyalty to his sister. The other day we went to McDonalds to try to survive the afternoon heat (even I can appreciate $0.69 ice cream cones and an air-conditioned play structure). My parents met us there visit with the kids a bit. My mom overheard a little boy tell his mother, "A baby hit me!" The mom was not impressed. Later, Will was sitting on Grammy Lisa's lap and confessed, "I hit a little man on da slide with my bones (a.k.a. fist)!"

A few minutes later I witnessed an event that threw light on the whole ordeal. Eliana was the only girl in the play area at the time. She was holding her own with the boys, but they were playing rough. In fact, they were pretend fighting. Here's what I saw. A boy had Eliana by the arm. She pretended to be upset, then pretend punched him and ran away. They were both laughing at this point as they went to rescue another child from the clutches of the evil Ronald McDonald statue. Will saw this happen as well, but didn't catch the "pretend" part. He ran after the boy and punched him, with a closed fist, in the back. The boy looked a little annoyed and confused, but didn't retaliate. Will got time out, and a rather confusing lecture from me. "if your sister's really in trouble, it's okay to help her. But if they're pretending....and, um ....oh, I don't know!"

I foresee Eliana's hot temper and Will's size and loyalty being a potentially dangerous combination in years to come.