Will a fake saw fit the bill?

No boy can resist the pull of having tools just like daddy's.

Today I was out in the yard working on a new garden bed and doing a little sawing.

This was enough to trigger the longing for a saw, and for me to promise Caelan that he would have a new saw tomorrow.

In so many ways they look to us and seek to imitate us - it's scary sometimes. And yet, it is a life truth: that we learn as we watch, and our interest is piqued and we want to get in on the action - even if it's a little before our time.

That means we need to adapt our response to honour the longing without putting a super sharp handsaw into a 2 1/2 year old's hands.

It seems to be a pattern that we embrace over and over again in life as we champ at the bit to do what someone else is doing. And sometimes they have the wisdom to celebrate our enthusiasm and help us express it as is appropriate for our maturity and skills, and sometimes they have the wisdom to just let us 'have at it'.

Will a fake saw fit the bill? Maybe for a year or two, but the longing for metal-to-wood contact with become insatiable soon enough.