My Children!

So my boys were here for the holidays -- only one week this time, as they spent one week of vacation at my mom's house visiting their grandparents and their uncle's family. Alisdair is newly interested in playing the guitar, while William has adopted "dapper" as his new primary philosophy. Both boys were in good health and good spirits, and we had a very good time mostly hanging around the house, with outings to Nana's for New Year's Dinner and lazer tag for fun. Both boys are taller than me, and my youngest is now within an inch of my eldest's height.

I am fascinated by my boys, in that I can start to see the adults they'll become. I don't know whether this is because I see them only sporadically these days, or whether I'd be doing it regardless, but I'm entirely enthralled by it. Alisdair is quiet and thoughtful and kind and funny, and starting to come into his own -- his time at an appropriately nerd-friendly college in some STEM career (as is his plan) will do great things for him. He reads voraciously and is social online and interested in the world around him, and loves games and gaming and the social lives that go along with that.

William has just bloomed this year -- he has discovered that he likes the things he likes, and he doesn't care if they aren't what others care about. He learned to tie a bow tie over Christmas break, and I'll be teaching him to iron his shirts over the summer since button-down shirts are now his jam. He's flirtatious and funny and loves cosplay and music and singing -- his flair for the theatrical is notable and fun, as he invites you into it rather than throwing it at you. He enjoys some reading, but art is really his jam -- he has an art bag he carries everywhere with him and he's constantly drawing. He's basically two years from being a student in a fine arts/design program, where he'll fit in perfectly -- we just have to make sure it's a program that will let him earn a living after he gets out of it, too.

I won't have them with me for Christmas next year -- they want to stay in Seattle and celebrate it with their younger siblings, which is an entirely reasonable request. I know it won't seem like Christmas without them, though -- I'll have to find a way to make it work. To offset this, though, I've already got their tickets to bring them out over Spring Break, which is conveniently next to Will's birthday, so we'll have a party here. :)

I'm truly fortunate in my children, and I love them dearly. They are my brightest stars, wherever they or I may be.