Isaac, my 5-year-old son, ran up excitedly and announced, “Mom, I can go all the way across the monkey bars; come watch!”
It was spring of 2013, and my family was at my parents' house for Easter. Successfully traversing the monkey bars was an accomplishment Isaac had been attempting for months.
My 2-year-old daughter, Eleanor, and I followed him outside and stood on the patio clapping while we watched him make his way from one end of the play set to the other. He reached the end, and Eleanor ran out to stand under the bars, grinning up at him. I congratulated Isaac from the patio and started to turn back into the house when his next sentence stopped me.