First, a quick apology for the hiatus. Things change, times move quickly. It's all good, positive and inspiring. So sorry for the delay.
Second, coming from a traditional nuclear family myself, I really find it quite blessed that I also had the fortunate circumstance to father both a girl and a boy, in that order, with all the accompanying drama that each gender...engenders.
My daughter, with all the beauty that only a 20 year old can possess, is a mall designers dream girl. Armed with merely a credit card and a somewhat flexible schedule, she can find enough clothes to address a small African country. She is a driven soul with an achingly unfailing aptitude for sarcasm and panache, and seems wiser than her years. Why? Probably because she's been close to the edges at times, when life has decided to towel-snap her ass and remind her that it takes a lot of work to be excellent. So she is the ultimate resilient one. Who's mood can sometimes be defined by the label behind her neck. She loves what she is and she wants to be front row and show you the love. To smell what the rock is cooking. (Which is a new found joyful interest and can likely just add to the repertoire).
My son is perfectly content as the single most stalwart soul I know. A rock who has assumed his position and stands nakedly for who he is, take it or leave it. He is unabashed. He is patient. He looks for and quite likely finds the best and most special part of a person and announces it and shares it. He is so completely the opposite at times of his carefully coiffed sister that it sometimes baffles us to believe we are a small family.
He could give a shit about a lot of things, but for the things he treasures he gives it his all. He is willing to put his feelings on his lapels, and he maintains a sensitivity that is intriguing. He listens more than he shares, and he accepts wounds that I know cut deep. I know because I've often created them.
They remain quite a constellation for us, a sun and a moon to observe. One basking in the hot-house spotlight that reflects such brilliance and endeavor, and one that remains at time the brightest part of the nighttime sky, a dependable fixed object that is unmoving and remains steadfast to all fortunate to fall within the light.
They are my somewhat awe-inspiring children...so very different, yet so vastly part of what we've created.
