Proud Moment

As a parent, there are moments when we are truly proud of our children. Today was one for me. Tomorrow is Ethan's 5th birthday, and he was supposed to have a party with all of his friends at the local Gym. He started running a fever today and feels really bad. I called all of his friends and told them we would have to reschedule the party. I dreaded telling Ethan. I knew he would be upset (I sure was). When we told him, we started the conversation by talking about what a special day tomorrow is because he will be 5. We decided we should get out photos & videos of when he was born to look at tomorrow. Then we talked about him having a fever and not wanting to make our friends sick. So we told him we would have his party on another day so he could stay home and rest tomorrow. First he said he didn't like resting. We promised to rent lots of movies and have a birthday cake and ice cream. Then he asked if I had told his friends. When I said yes, he asked if they were sad. I told him they were disappointed, but they were excited that they would still get to celebrate with him another day. Then he said something that made me so proud. He said his friends could still go to the party, and he just wouldn't go so he didn't make them sick. I thought this was the sweetest thing he could think at a time like his. He was more concerned about his friends disappointment than his own. Truly, I expected him to cry and fuss about the party, but he handled it very well.