Dear Tobin,

You are the sunshiniest part of the gloomiest time of year.  You and your brothers missed another day of school today due to inclement weather (though it really wasn’t very bad—I’m not quite sure what the motivation for the full cancellation was).  Miles slept in late, and you and Callum had so much fun together this morning.  It’s really sweet to see you guys developing your own special relationship.  Lest anyone think it’s all about cozy cuddles and reading enlightening books under a hand-crocheted blanket, you were probably playing Pokémon Attack or something equally violent.  Still, I’m glad you two have fun together.

We had our predictably travel-heavy holiday season, darting back and forth to different parts of the state to celebrate with different family groups.  We’re home now, mostly relaxing as we wait for the construction on our house to start.  We still don’t have a definite date, but hopefully it will be soon, and we’ll be able to move into our friends’ house.  You’ve been looking forward to that, mostly because it will mean a whole new set of toys to play with.  It will be interesting to be cooking and sleeping in a new place, but we’ll still be able to go back to our house for anything we might need, since it’s only a couple of miles away.  I guess we’ll just pretend we’re in an AirBnB on vacation, only everybody will still have to go to work and school.

Second grade has been going well for you.  You’re going to be doing a Language Arts ELP class, and you seem to have lots of good friends.  Basketball just started, and you were happy to see that one of your school friends is on your team.  You never have a problem finding friends in any situation, though.  Last night when you got home from taekwondo you mentioned that one of your classmates’ dads was going to contact us to set up a playdate.  It’s hard to guess what your future will hold career-wise, because no single academic area has pulled ahead of any other, but I’m sure you’ll do something that uses your strength in friendship-building.

Sometimes your need for socialization can be straining on other members of the family.  The rest of us, even Callum, find alone time rejuvenating and necessary for our mental health.  You would be doing something with someone every minute of the day if you could.  When Miles had a birthday party earlier this month, he was gracious about letting you hang out with his friends to some extent, but eventually he wanted you to go away.  It was a reasonable request, and your dad and I tried hard to find special things for you to do (e.g., a trip to Planet 3 and reserving chocolate fountain supplies for you to enjoy), but you still found it heartbreakingly unjust that you couldn’t be a full participant in the party.  Wherever the action is, that’s where you want to be.

An area that is still tough for you is learning to keep your mouth shut.  As your dad and I often note, you’ve never met a silence you didn’t want to fill.  That can be funny and cute, when you’re singing or rattling off witty rejoinders, but it can also be very irritating.  As I’ve mentioned in this space before, you’re a pot-stirrer.  You can’t ever leave anything alone, and you prod and comment and goad people (mostly Miles).  You are resilient and good at laughing off Miles’s insults, but he’s not as much, and we just can’t get you to understand that sometimes backing off is the better choice.  I know it’s hard to be the middle brother, and you need to make your presence known.  Trust me, Tobin:  nobody is going to forget about you.  You are very memorable, and you don’t need to be antagonistic to keep your spot in our consciousness.

Your current favorites:  hanging out with friends, Beyblades, Pokémon cards, frequent wardrobe changes, pepperoni pizza, Hawaiian Punch, and having really poofy hair.  You love to talk about our vacation plans, and you got really interested in airlines and flying after we ended up getting tickets on an airline we’ve never used before.  You are highly interested in flying first class (not gonna happen; sorry), and you have all kinds of plans for flying the whole family first class to Rome after you win the lottery.  I think you have Mubby to blame for that, as she’s the only person in our family who ever buys lottery tickets, and she likes to fantasize about how she’d spend our winnings.  You’re excited and enthusiastic about almost everything, and I love how your laugh rings through the whole house.

You’re a bright spot in a dismal season, my sweet boy.  I can’t wait to see your fluffy curls bouncing in the sunshine.  We’ll get there–maybe not first class, but we’ll find our way.

Love,

Mom