Little Son has been reading Rascal, by Sterling North. A book about a boy who befriends a raccoon. He interrupted the reading of this book to sneak in a few Hardy Boys books, but I encouraged him to finish Rascal because Calvert is requiring a book report this week, and I thought it would be a good book to write about.

Well, yesterday evening, he approached me in the kitchen, placing the book on the counter, and told me he had just finished it. I looked at his face, and it contained boatloads of emotion. "The ending was sad", he added.

"What was sad about it?" I asked.

"He released him..", and then Little Son caught his voice in a half sob, so I held him close to me in a long, tight hug.

"Did he do the right thing?" I asked. "Wasn't it the right thing to release him back into the wild?"

"Yes.." and Little Son looked up at me, with tears wicking away from the side of both of his eyes. "He went with the female raccoon."

"Well, maybe they will have baby raccoons and come back to visit often,", I hopefully suggested.

Little Son replied, "I like to think they will come back every year and he can be friends with their babies, too." His face brightened.

"That's a good way to think about it," I commented.

And Little Son was satisfied. I love that he was so profoundly moved by this book. It was a sweet moment for mommy and son.