Wild Man decides on a profession

As I wrote recently, Wild Man has been very interested in C's dad. I think his interest stems, at least in part, from the time he recently spent with my dad and my grandfather, for whom Wild Man is named.

Last night in the bathtub, he asked about his Grandpa and his Great-Grandpa. As we talked about them, he then asked about C's dad. I explained that he would have called him "Papa," not "Grandpa." He then said, "But, Mommy, he died, right?" I said, "Yes, he got very sick, and he died." Wild Man pondered this for a minute. Here is the conversation that followed.

WM: When I get sick you take me to the doctor. Did Daddy's father go to the doctor?

M: Yes, he went to the doctor. Sometimes doctors can't make us better when we're very sick. Daddy's father was very, very sick.

WM: I will be a doctor when I get big. That way I can make sure nobody ever dies like Daddy's father did.

M: I think that would be wonderful.

When he told C this as C was putting him to bed, C had to choke back tears. He came into the room where I was nursing Bear to sleep and said, "M, I know we're doing something right because Wild Man has a heart bigger than mine or yours." Truer words were never spoken in my house.