Boys and dolls

I took the kids to Goodwill the other day and told them they could get something.  My oldest son, who will be 11 next month came up to me with a boy china doll and asked if he could get it.  I looked for a minute and probably made a face. He asked what was wrong, and I told him the doll was creepy.  My son shook his head at me, looked at the doll and informed me that he was very cute. I couldn't argue with that so I said yes. 

A few minutes later he comes back with a girl doll and told me that both of them would only cost $3 and he would like to have them both and call them Lysander and Lindsay.  He also told me again that dolls are not creepy and he really likes them.

We bought the dolls and the ride home he just held them on his lap.  At home he brushed their hair and fixed them up and put them in a safe place where he can look at them.  He thanked me for letting him get the dolls and says he knows that sometimes people might find it weird that a boy would even want a doll but he loves them. I thanked him for being himself and told him I admire his nurturing spirit and how what people might think does not bother him. 

He is a boy that has great empathy and a love of younger children. He told me one day that his favorite thing is when a baby looks at him and grins, it makes him feel warm and happy and peaceful inside.