His world is small. There are people he knows by name, but not many of them. His concept of work is severely crippled by the fact that his dad works from home (to him, work means sequestering yourself in a different room). His concept of the rest of the world consists of the places he routinely ends up (CVS, Walmart, Walgreens, Church, and the Library). And yet, within his little world, there is great opportunity for invention. He can be one of his great aunts going to work. He can be any one of his grandparents going to Walmart. He can be daddy. He can be mommy. He can be Farmer Dooley. Whatever occurs to him, he makes happen (the gender confusion thing, I’m sure, will sort itself out). The language barrier is still strongly in place — I can’t get too much of a window into what he’s thinking, yet. But I love watching it develop. It’s a great reminder of how fantastic and big and different the world is when you’re not accustomed to it.

Experiencing the familiar through the eyes of someone experiencing the new is inspiring; it’s a gift from my son to me, and often a gift from a writer to their readers.