Who needs your attention right now?

Who needs your attention right now?

When I was 2, my world completely changed overnight.

New baby brother. Parents elated (and exhausted). Everyone fussing over this tiny human who couldn't even hold his head up.

And then Great Uncle Marvin walked into my room.

As the story goes, I was sleepy but not quite asleep when he appeared.
He was holding a stuffed bear.
My first words to him? "Is that for me?" ❤️

That bear was Barney.
(No relation to the purple dinosaur, thank you very much.)

Uncle Marvin could have brought a gift for the baby like everyone else. But he looked around and asked himself: Who actually needs my attention right now?

The answer was me. The former only child trying to figure out where I fit in this new reality.

Barney has been with me ever since.
Shared my bed pretty much every night.
Copiloted multiple cross-country road trips.
Absorbed many tears.

Over the years, I received many other stuffed animal gifts. But none earned the same special place as Barney.

Sometimes I’ve wondered why - what made him so special to me? And today when I was looking at him it occurred to me:

Barney wasn't just a gift.

Barney was Uncle Marvin seeing me. Really seeing me. Recognizing that even though I couldn't fully understand how much my world was changing, I needed to know I still mattered.

Sometimes the person who needs your attention most isn't the obvious choice.

Sometimes it's the 2-year-old in the corner while everyone celebrates the newborn. Sometimes it's the quiet team member while everyone praises the star performer. Sometimes it's the friend who's "doing fine" while everyone rallies around the one in crisis.

So maybe we need to pause to ask this question more often:
Who needs your attention right now?