The power of affirmation

“Mommy needs you to be a man,” I overheard the mother say to her toddler as they crossed the street. She had the best intentions, I know, along with a heavy bag of groceries in her arms. Her son wanted to be carried home. It was nap-time and his little legs were tired from trailing Mama through the supermarket and across the highway toward home. I wanted to carry her groceries for her and let her hoist him up in her arms. But this was New York City, and I had a quasi-toddler of my own—my mini-Schnauzer Aengus, with a limping rear leg. Anyway, my generosity may have been met with skepticism, even fear, by this urban mom, so I did not offer.

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