1. My middle son is eleven today. He says, "It's my first palindromic age!" I wished him ten more palindrome birthdays, thinking that would take him to 111, but my 13yo pointed out that 101 is actually a palindrome too.
2. For his birthday Joe asked for a replacement factorial T-shirt. He wore the original until I told him it was too ragged for school, and now he wears it to bed.
3. He is not as ubergeeky as these first two takes might make him sound. He's the child who eroded my ban on toy guns. He is the proud owner of 15ish Nerf guns, and is forever hoping for more. His thoughts on circumventing silly snacktime rules, obtaining cool toys, using bad language, and dealing with unimaginative deacons are all favorite family stories.
4. On the menu: blueberry oven pancake for breakfast, subs for lunch, potato-cheese pie with green beans and chocolate cake for dinner. On the schedule: minor league baseball tonight, paintball with pals on Sunday.
5. No matter how many things I forget when I am an elderly lady with an uncertain memory, I think I will always remember the joy of his birth -- my first at home.
6. He is a kid to be proud of: hard-working, independent, conscientious. He won the 5th-grade citizenship award, the first of our kids to do so.
7. Recently he found himself in need of some comfort after a sticky situation at a friend's house. He had handled it beautifully -- you couldn't have asked for a better response -- but the memory lingered. He asked if I would read Esther to him -- he thinks this bit is a hoot. Before you get to chapter 6, though, there's a fair amount of story to get through. I lay beside him, trying to pour all the love and consolation I could into the reading. "Hammedatha the Agagite" isn't what one usually thinks of as a soothing phrase, but any port in a storm, I guess. His eyelids fluttered closed as I read about satraps and eunuchs and gibbets and genocide averted, until his breathing was peaceful and I eased away slowly.
The thing about 11 is that you turn around and blink and they're teenagers already, and they don't ask you to stay with them while they fall asleep any longer. I am remembering the days when he was very small, the way his dark blue eyes studied my face as we got to know each other. It's been such a pleasure to watch him unfurl.
More quick takes at Jen's. And phew! Thirty days, thirty posts. Thanks for reading.
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