Upward and Outward

I’d almost forgotten how fun it was to have kids around the house. Granted, there were never this many, but they’ve hit an age where they’ve gone from being diaper-filling, constantly-crying little helpless monsters to actual people, with their own personalities. It’s just amazing to watch it happen.

Take Apollo, for example. He’s definitely his mother’s son. The kid’s brilliant, just like his sister was at his age. I have to let Lakeisha help him with his homework, because if Apollo has a question about something, chances are I’m not going to know the answer. He’s going to really be a handful when he gets older… nothing’s as challenging to deal with as a kid who’s smarter than his dad.

He gets along great with his twin nieces, Lara and Tara.  They’re a great couple of kids, and thank God neither of them is anything like their father beyond their hair color.

They’re both very close to each other, in a way I suppose only twins can be. But they’re definitely each her own person. Lara, for example (on the left in the above photo), is the softer-hearted of the two. She’s just a good kid to her core, always looking for ways to help out her parents, and Lakeisha and I, around the house, and unnaturally kind to her more rambunctious sister. There’s just not a mean bone in her little body.

Tara, on the other hand, is the more outgoing of the two, and much more likely to land in trouble. She’s what you might call precocious. Tara always has something to say, and is always looking for ways to push her own limits. And her confidence is just amazing. I’m pretty sure “can’t” isn’t the girl’s vocabulary. Where Lara is the type to hang around the house with a good coloring book, Tara wants to be out in the world finding new things to do and new people to meet. She’s a little firecracker, that one.

With all the growing up that’s been happening around here, I’m afraid there’s been some growth in other directions as well. Take yours truly, for example. It was a sad, sad day when I realized that the work it would take to keep my beloved six-pack intact would most likely send me to an early grave, so I’ve had to resign myself to the fact that I’m getting older, and need to slow things down a notch or two. Abs, you were good to me while you lasted. You will be missed.

And speaking of stretched bellies… turns out the weight Artemis has been putting on lately isn’t just from a lack of exercise. This is great news… you know, because there weren’t enough kids running around the house already.

I suppose I should be thankful that, at least this time, we know who did it. The downside, of course, is that we hardly ever see him any more, and when we do, he looks like he hasn’t slept for a week. That boy really needs to learn a little responsibility before it’s too late.