Our local newspaper ran a beautiful picture in early April. It shows a little boy, maybe 10 years old, asleep in bed. Clasped in one outstretched hand is a trophy present it to him for achievement in the junior hockey Atom division. Nestled in his other arm, is a teddy bear. I love this picture. If you have sons you'll understand why. I have never raised a daughter, but it seems to me that between childhood and adulthood in girls there is really not a very radical change. Adulthood appears to be just the logical extension of baby-hood. Play houses are replaced by a real home. Baby dolls are replaced by children of her own. With a little boy, it's different. For a time he too is a small, frail little creature. He grows up loving cuddly things like teddy bears and he needs the warmth and love of a mothers arms. But soon, too soon, he must start to kick free of all these soft and gentle things. By the time he is five or six he must start to embrace things that belong in the man's world, things like hockey sticks and pucks, baseballs, footballs and boxing gloves. These are hard, harsh things, completely different from the world he has known. Make no mistake about it, this period when a child is part baby and part boy is a very difficult time. If you don't believe me, go to the local boxing club sometime and see the seven year old tiger fight back the tears when he loses the match. Everything in him says cry but the world demands of this one that at seven, he be a man. Although mother will never know, it's not always easy to be a seven year old boy.
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