I tried using some different instruments on this one. As it turned out, the different instruments kinda turned out to represent different people in the story. My mom wrote an awesome analysis of that which I will share with you here:

"I love the simplicity of the underlying theme that repeats over and over again in the clarinet. Clarinet is one of my least favorite instruments, by the way, but it is perfect and I really love it in this piece. I know that you said that the music was not so much to remind them of their little boy, but of their feelings about him. It may do just that for them, but the simple, repeating theme reminds me very much of a little boy, dragging a stick he has picked up, on the ground as he walks along on a shady, tree-lined street on a pleasant summer day. The street has been paved in the past, but is broken pavement now and is thick with dust. The street is empty, no one coming or going, birds tweeting and dust kicking up as he walks and drags the stick. He is happy and content, and just walking along, somewhat lost in thoughts that might swirl in the mind of a six-year-old. It is a peaceful, safe, all's right with the world kind of scene."