the story of honest Will and the cape

My son Will is honest. It comes to him naturally.
Whatever he thinks is right and true comes flying out of his mouth without a second thought.
Sometimes I wish he wasn't so honest.
This Halloween I made him a cape for his Legolas, Elf warrior, costume.
The cape was a simple affair. Fleece. Sewn on ties around the neck and hood.
It was all good until Will told me he could not reach the quiver on his back.
His cape was holding back his mad archery skills.
Then he asked me to cut it shorter. Twice.
Because the length was holding back his leaping ability.
So before he went to school. I trimmed the bottom and
cut arm slits in the cape and sewed the edges by hand so it wouldn't tear or unravel.
I called him to try it on. He had a look of disdain on his face.
And in his honest, no nonsense, kind of way he said,
"These aren't going to work. They need to be higher. My shoulders need to fit through."
We now have a new rule in our house. Don't be so honest.
If you don't like the arm slits in your cape then you can go to your room until it is time for school.
The stress of an overly busy week and my unappreciated sewing attempt, left me undone.
I started crying. Because that is what I do when I am stressed out.
Jack and Addie hugged me. Scott hugged me.
And Will came out from his room and hugged me and apologized,
"Mom, I'm sorry that I made you cry.."
He paused and then said, "It's just that those arm holes really don't work very well."
Again, with the honesty.
So I wiped my tears. I decided to let it go. I have never aspired to be a master cape seamstress.
I'm not holding it against him. I am pretty sure that I said very similar things when I was a kid.
As for the cape...it is really warm and I don't think it looks all that bad.
I think I may even wear it to school to pick them up today.
In a Peter Pan like stance at the entrance of the school,
I will welcome all the children as they come out.
Then I will say "hi" to all of Will's friends and ask them if they like the cape that I made
for him and ask if they would like to try it on and see how it fits.
For some reason, the thought of doing these things brings me some joy.
I am feeling better about the cape already.
And honestly? This could be a lot of fun.