Watching "Peter Pan" with Peter Pan

I was watching the recent live broadcast of "Peter Pan" with my six-year old boy. At the end, when Peter finds Wendy all grown up, with a daughter of her own... I, in a typically motherly way, got all teary. Saddened for Wendy who is hurt by Peter's characteristic forgetfulness, heartstrings pulled by Peter's disappointment in finding that Wendy was not the same... that things change and he is forced into a new reality, one he did not ask for or desire.

I noticed that my boy was watching intently. He is notoriously bad at identifying emotions, and we do a lot of emotion discussion. Since he was so engrossed, I figured he was emotionally connecting to the play, so I asked, "Is it making you feel sad?"

He looked at me like I was crazy and said, "No, it's just weird that she grew up."

And that is the essence of a little boy, a small child, that J. M. Barrie captured so timelessly. My son was not concerned for the feelings of the characters, he was just confused by the story. Why would Wendy grow up when she could just stay in Neverland? Why would the lost boys choose a mother over their great leader, Peter?

Peter Pan believed that he was the greatest, that he was invulnerable, that his childhood could endure forever... and so it does, for it lives on in the heart of all children who have no concern for the future and who will not grow up... at least, not today.