Yesterday morning, I told Charlie that I was going to play a quick round of golf with Steve.
“Who’s Steve?” he asked.
“A friend,” I said.
Charlie nodded, turned, and walked away. A minute later, he returned. “You have a lot of friends,” he said.
I smiled.
“But Mom has a lot more. She has a lot more friends than you Dad. Like a ton more. But you still have a lot.”
I nodded. It’s true. Elysha probably has more friends than me, though I didn’t think it was necessary for Charlie to point it out so explicitly.
Then he said something really smart:
“When I grow up, I want to be like you and Mom. I want to have lots of friends, too.”
I’m not sure if Charlie came to understand the importance of having friends in that moment, but it sure seemed like he did. Either way, the value of friendship is a damn good thing to learn at any age.
