My oldest son, Joseph, is very extroverted. Gabriel, his younger brother by two years, is the opposite. On any aptitude or intelligence test, I would bet that the older one scores higher.
Joseph and Gabriel:
Once, when I was in teacher training, I invited a friend out to do friend stuff. It was a weekend, sometime near the end of the term. She told me she couldn’t hang out because she had a stack of papers almost 13 inches high to grade.
Joseph:
This morning your mother called me because — September 12! What a day, one that I will never forget.
Nor will I forget September 12 last year. I love your enthusiasm, buddy.
“I accidentally ate all my tic tacs.” My solution to Gabriel’s nervous tick of chewing on his shirt cuff. His teeth — either coming loose or coming in — were probably bothering him. At any rate, the chewing didn’t bother me, but his teacher mentioned it at our parent conference…
Always be kind. And generous. And grateful.
We have tried to teach you to be satisfied with what you have, to not want more than you need, and definitely to not be envious of what…
Joseph, if you’re reading this in ten years and you still call it, “woo-woo,” then we need to have a talk.
But for now, it’s cute. And funny. I could barely contain myself when you first asked me, as we drove to some errands, if mommy and me had ever…
Joseph, Gabriel, and Naomi: I owe you a letter before I get home.