MY 18-YEAR-OLD SON WALKED ACROSS HIS HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION STAGE IN HIS LATE TWIN SISTER’S BRIGHT RED DRESS WHILE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE LAUGHED. I HAD BEGGED HIM NOT TO WEAR IT. THEN HE WALKED STRAIGHT TOWARD ME, PULLED A DRIED YELLOW FLOWER FROM THE POCKET, AND SAID, “MOM… THIS IS WHY.”

The whispering started before Ethan Bennett had even reached the principal.

Then came the laughter.