A few supplemental notes about Aiden’s injuries:

– The poor kid who ran him over felt awful, and the other kids immediately began to yell at him as if he’d kicked a baby. The whole thing was an accident, and I put my arm around him and assured him that Aiden would be fine and that it wasn’t his fault. It was important to me to declare his innocence in front of the other kids. A few of Aiden’s biggest fans seem interested in acquiring the kid’s address. Not necessary. He’s a sweet kid who’s about six years old. Aiden holds no grudges. In fact, while still sobbing as I was cleaning up his face, he started asking to go back outside to play with the kids again.

– Aiden is very proud of his wounds, and he’s "telling the story" to anyone who will listen, including me and Amy (over and over). He’s just beginning to really display a command of the language, using phrases we aren’t teaching him and understanding almost everything we say. Every time he touches his nose, sees himself in a mirror, or someone remarks on his injuries, he proceeds to babble out the same half-intelligible version of the story. Despite it only being partly in English, it’s clearly the same every time, and it includes enough pertinent words (like ball and nose) that it’s obvious he’s telling his war story. Clearly that inclination is nature more than nurture.