Tage has, in the past few weeks, mastered the skill of walking down our long, winding staircase all by himself. He sets off downstairs without the slightest bit of trepidation these days, but I haven’t yet been able to get rid of my mother worry and I can’t make myself stop hovering. Last night after dinner he said he was going down, but since I had my hands full loading the dishwasher I couldn’t go with him. “Okay,” I said, “but be careful.”

In an exasperated tone he can have learned only from his big sister, he told me, “I know, Mama, I know,” and went on his merry way.