For The Love Of A Tiger

My little boy is growing up. Scottie told me this weekend that he has a crush on a little girl at his school. I'm not ready for that, darn it! He's only seven! He said that she asked him to be her boyfriend on the playground but he didn't answer her because his little friends were there. I guess that's a small reprieve for me. He also said that he got into a fight on the playground and won. The teachers didn't find out.

I guess I can't keep him young forever. I did get a pleasant reminder of his innocence last night. Around 8:30 he got tired and decided to lie in bed to wind down. He asked me for his teddy bear tiger he calls "Spikey." About four years ago we were at the drug store when he spied it, and he wrapped his little arms around it in a bear hug and refused to part with it. I gave in and bought it for him, and that little terry cloth tiger became one of the most loved toys of his childhood.

While he was lying in bed with last night with his eyes fluttering, he drifted into a little fugue, and for a short time he had the innocence of a toddler again. He was concerned about the fact he hadn't played with Spikey in a long time, and he asked if Spikey still loved him. I told him that yes, of course Spikey still loves him. "But how can he love me? He's just a bunch of cotton and fur?" Scottie wondered. I told him that Spikey would never stop loving him. I told him that it was just like in Toy Story, and that his toys didn't start moving and talking until he was asleep. I reminded him of the cowgirl toy whose little girl owner grew up and stopped playing with her, but the cowgirl never ever stopped loving the little girl. I assured Scottie that Spikey would never stop loving him.

Scottie asked me what kind of toys I had when I was a kid. I stroked his hair and told him all about my GI Joe's, Star Wars action figures, my Etch a Sketch and Stretch Armstrong. I told him of Evel Knievel and Weebles and Hot Wheels in the sandbox.

And then he was asleep.