Jacob had pajama day at school. All three of the grade two classes dressed in pajamas and were allowed to bring a stuffed animal for the day. They could also wear robes and or slippers, as they saw fit.

I was worried this morning when Jacob said he was going to take Purple Puppy along for the day. Purple is Jacob’s favorite sleeping stuffie . His love for this dog is fierce and while I was concerned he might lose him, I was more concerned that some of the other boys might make fun of him.

Turns out I had no reason to worry. Out of three classes only two children did not bring stuffed animals. Safe to assume these were both boys but nonetheless, many many many boys did bring their favorite stuffies. There were no false displays of bravado. Little boys can still be little boys, thankfully. This lends hope for the future state of things, I think.

Jacob has got one friend who refused to wear his pajamas and most certainly did not bring a stuffed animal. Doesn’t even own one, in fact. He also refuses to dress up for halloween and experiences great anxiety over being asked to wear a nice shirt for the christmas concert. I’m not sure where he gets it. Maybe his far older sister made fun of him once and now he’s paranoid. Maybe his dad is really shy about stuff too. I don’t know. But last night I worried that this boy was the grade two standard and that my won would be the only one to show up with a toy he loves to cuddle. The very idea made me sad not only for my own child but also for the general condition of the world at large if little boys have given up hugging soft things by the time they are seven. Lucky for us all, this child is an anomaly – and I am sad only for him.