15 : 268 : 3 : 9

“Mom,” Puck whispered to me Tuesday evening. I could sense the rising importance in his voice. “I’m starting to grow a beard! Feel!” I rubbed my fingers over the “stubble”. “Oh, here,” he added. “There’s more on my lip, too. Feel.” Then his eyes grew wide. “I’m beginning to grow a mustache too! And I have a mole by my ear! I’m going to be just like Dad!”

This aspiring Third Grader had a few more thoughts for me that night before bed. Apparently he agreed with comic strip Calvin in regards to the notion of kissing.

“I guess most boys your age like to think that’s gross,” I agreed with him.

“Well, Dad did too before he married you. All boys do. Until it happens.” Then he paused to do a headstand on the couch. “Except for me! I’M A SUPER NOVA!”

I couldn’t think of a more appropriate way to kick off a new school year.

Wednesday morning, Puck was excited. A little nervous. Enough so that he didn’t want to finish his eggs and toast for breakfast. As soon as he donned his red Minecraft shirt for “Cardinals Spirit Day”, grabbed his lunch box and thermos, and headed out the door, Yali and I waved them off.

“Wave goodbye to Puck!” I told Yali.

He raised one little brown hand into the air, and the reality struck. That smile turned upside-down. He had not anticipated losing big brother to school. But waving him off from the window seemed to help.
Later, Oxbear called me.

“We listened to the Smothers Brothers all the way to school. When we got there, Puck said, ‘I bet they make millions of dollars. What a job. Maybe Yali and I can do that when we grow up!’”

First day of school: success. Puck walked out of the gym with a big smile for his baby brother.

School night at the ballpark: Puck and I were joined by Rose in 268, while Carrie-Bri and Francis stashed themselves one level up in 367. By the 6th inning, Puck was huddled under his seat in his Minecraft hoodie while I held three plastic fans over his head. A subtle rainbow arced over the stadium, but we sat out the rain until the 7th. For not being much of a baseball fan, I have to hand it to the kid, he did a decent job of sitting there for two hours. Of course, the fat pretzel from his aunt helped a lot.

We left early right as all the good stuff happened; Puck had school in the morning. We could hear the cheers floating across the night air.