Make Me Smile Monday

Our little man J has recently discovered clip-on ties. He has a buddy at church who's the same age as him who wears them and because of that he decided he wanted one, too. So a couple weeks ago he was given a few ties. One from Nana and Poppa and two from his aunt. This Sunday at church he proudly wore one of his new ties (for the second week in a row). He sat with us before the service enthusiastically pointing out to Jason one of the men from church who was also wearing a tie.

What makes it extra special is where his "new" ties came from. The one that was passed on from Nana used to be worn by two of his uncles, and the other two Jason wore when he was a little boy as well as J's cousin R who's 6 (and one of J's heroes). I love the significance of items like this that have been passed down from generation to generation. J likes to stretch up his arm as far as it can reach and tell us that one day he will be be a big man like daddy. The other day he even told Jason that one day he, his daddy and his poppa would all be men at the same time. I think he sees this as a way for him to connect with being a man in his own way now.    

In a world where masculinity can sometimes be equated with negative things, I love seeing my little guy find healthy ways to make the connection. I'm so incredibly grateful that J has so many great role models in his life! You know who you are and I just want to thank you for it!