On his first day of school, my son Lucas marched into his classroom with complete confidence, only for me to hear the teacher call him “Jamie”—and watch him answer without hesitation. My heart dropped when I noticed his cubby was already neatly labeled “Jamie L.” instead of Lucas, making me fear there had been a massive mix-up.
When I stepped inside to correct the teacher, she gently explained that the enrollment form listed his full name as “James Lucas.” When asked for his preference, he chose Jamie, explaining to me with a serious grin that Lucas is a home name, but Jamie is meant for “big kid stuff” like school.
Seeing how proud he was to claim this new identity, I realized he hadn’t changed; he was simply growing and discovering another version of himself. I knelt down, got his reassurance that I will always get to call him Lucas, and walked out incredibly proud of the confident explorer he is becoming.
