Aidan

Aidan is my younger of my two boys and is very different from my older son and daughter. Like his brother and sister he is very bright and very friendly. Unlike Oliver and Fiona (and me) however, he does not have any rough edges to his personality. He is easy going, charming, and very comfortable in his own skin. He is happy to be at the party, as long as there is enough Goldfish.

A few weeks ago I took Aidan and Fiona to Barnes and Noble. As we browsed the aisles, I ran into Tina, someone I used to work for years ago when I worked for a publishing house. We decided to have coffee and chat. Tina and Aidan sat as I waited in line for coffee (Fiona had wandered off to hang out with a friend of hers she had ran into). When I returned Aidan was holding forth, and telling Tina that he was reading Moby Dick and that he was surprised to realize that the story really wasn't about the whale but about Ahab's anger and that Starbuck is really Ahab's conscience. Holy Crap! This is a kid who taught himself to read when he was 4 and now he is psychoanalyzing Captain Ahab...I hung back and watched this interchange between my 9 year old and this formidable woman who typically uses the time when people are speaking to think about what she is going to say next. She was completely charmed by my little boy and was left speechless. I returned to the table, Tina and I to our chat, and Aidan to his Calvin and Hobbs book.

That exchange pretty much sums up my son. Aidan is a great little boy wise beyond his years. I was reminded of that again this morning. This morning Aidan and I sat on our balcony, he with his hot chocolate and me with my coffee. Aidan was up earlier than usual this morning, as is the case on most days when there is no school. We talked about the changes in our lives, school, and baseball. With Oliver and Fiona you know when they are upset or happy. They are both they type of people who can make the weather. With Aidan you have to poke and prod and dig to find out what is on his mind.

Aidan told me that he was happy to be living here with that he wants more time alone with me. I told him I felt the same way. As the easy going child, its easy to let his brother and sister dominate the attention I give my kids. I asked him if he were happy...he told me "I am happy wherever I go, that's my secret." I hope his brother and sister learn, early on in their lives, this lesson about happiness that Aidan has learned at age nine rather than struggle to learn it at forty-two as their father is endeavoring to do.

We talked for a long while, he then got up and went into the kitchen. He came out with the two bottles of bubbles I got last night. We sat on the balcony, blowing bubbles into the springtime air, quietly enjoying our time together.