When It's Okay to Cry

Our first full week back in the US for a two-month furlough, we were offered the opportunity to stay in a family member's lakeside cabin for a few days. We piled in as many folks as possible and did our best to get the most fun out of 15 people squashed into a tiny two-bedroom house. It was absolutely terrific.

Before we'd gotten settled in well, the youngest in the crowd (my seven-year old nephew) injured his foot on a hard plastic lawn chair. He immediately began to cry, but when he noticed the skinned area bleeding, those cries became wails and his volume exponentially increased. We adults pitched in with comments meant to distract him while Mom administered first aid: "Wow! That was quite an acrobatic stunt you performed!" "You have got to be the toughest little monkey around!" "You are gonna have the neatest band-aid in town!"

His response? He made the saddest little face ever and ... (continue reading)

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