Okay, No Sociopaths Here!

My children have developed empathy and I saw it in action just yesterday (actually, I've seen it before at fleeting moments). Last night, I decided it was time to try to remove 4 splinters from Kyle's feet. I had some cream that can numb the skin surface, so I applied that to each of the spots and covered with a plastic dressing. Unfortunately, Kyle couldn't hold his feet still for 45 minutes (the time it takes for the cream to work) and 2 of the dressings came off. When I removed the first splinter from a site that the cream had stayed on, Kyle was fairly happy that it didn't hurt. However, as I began working on the 2nd one, he started complaining, and within a few minutes was crying, punctuated by intermittent screams. Joanna had been sitting next to him from the beginning and telling him it would be okay. She started holding his hand when he started screaming. Charlie came over to check on him and then prayed for him (it was so sweet!). Marcie tried talking to him while Charlie held the flashlight so that I could really see what I was working on. After a minute or 2, Charlie put down the flashlight and left the room. I just figured the screaming was bothering him. He came back a few minutes later with a "card" he had made for Kyle. On the front was a stenciled car with Charlie's name on the paper (something he had done in daycare) and on the back was a heart with I Love You written on it. Charlie folded the paper and gave it to Kyle. Between working on the 2nd and 3rd splinter, I let Kyle calm down and he opened it. He saw the car and said, "can I have a heart on it?" Charlie was so proud to say that he had drawn a heart on the back. Both boys hugged each other and then Marcie and Joanna got in on the hugging. While I was working on the next splinter, Charlie and Marcie went back to making cards and ended up taping candy to the envelopes (I still don't know where they found envelopes ... I'm afraid to look). Kyle netted 3 cards, 1 fun size skittles bag, 1 pack of 2 starburst candies and a jolly rancher. Needless to say, after I finished removing the splinters, he was all smiles holding his cards and candy!