“I can do it myself!” says my six-year-old, as he swings his leg up the high bottom branch of the cherry tree in our front yard.  I have just given him a barely perceptible, gentle nudge to help him get where he wants to be, but it’s clear that he doesn’t want this.  I need to back off.  What he really wants at this point is for me to be there, to cheer him on and observe his triumph.  […]