When I was home for graduation, I spent a lot of time hanging out and talking to my wonderful 7-year-old niece about all kinds of stuff: her mom, her little brother, India, New York, toys, drawing -- and what she's doing in school these days. Apparently her project at the time was to write and illustrate a story about anything she wanted, which would then be read to her classmates and their parents at some sort of open house.
Much to my surprise, she said that she didn't like her story, she thought it was stupid, and she was too scared to get up and read in front of other people. That's when I sat down with her and explained the way of things.
"Look, Mal," I said. "You don't ever have to be afraid of anything. Remember how I said once that you were born at a very special time? Because of your birthday, it means that you're a special kind of person called a Leo. Being a Leo means that inside you, inside all of the Leos, like me and your brother too, there's a little lion. And you know how brave and clever lions are, right? The lion that lives inside you is there to help you be brave, too. Any time you're scared, just remember that you always have something inside you that helps you to be brave, and smart, and creative, and strong. You can do anything in the whole world that you want to do, and when you write your story, remember that it's the best story, and when you read it, you're absolutely the best reader. And you'll always have me and the lion that lives inside you, watching and cheering you on."
Fast forward two weeks. I just had a conversation with my mom. She said that Mallory just read her book, about a lion who gets lost in the jungle and spends the rest of the story trying to find his mom. And then my mom told me that the book had a very special dedication.
"To my Uncle Chris, because he told me I was creative."
Mom, of course, asked whether anybody else ever told her that. "Sure you and Mom said it. But Uncle Chris is the only one who really meant it. Because he told me I have a lion inside."
I know you Leo-haters out there are groaning and rolling your eyes -- but as far as I'm concerned? She just learned about her heritage. And I couldn't be more proud.