Dear Tobin,

This is nothing new, Tobin, but the first thing that sprang to my mind to say about you is that you are a joy. You are so resilient, so energetic, so quick to laugh and shrug off negativity. You even kept it together when you didn’t win at Exploding Kittens a couple of times recently. You’re still a pot-stirrer; you have not yet mastered the art of knowing when to drop a topic. It seems like every dinner includes you getting admonished for needling one of your siblings (or for your dad’s pet peeve, chewing loudly). Still, almost every dinner concludes with you thanking me for dinner and telling me you love me. You are super-duper forgivable.

Earlier in the month, you and your siblings had a five-day weekend, so we turned it into a mini-vacation to St. Louis. We are considering it your Eleven trip, and while it was less exotic than Art’s Eleven trip to Orlando, we still had a really good time. I think you enjoy planning vacations as much as I do, and we did a lot of research together in preparation. You helped pick out our rental townhouse, which was quite nice and well-located. It was in the same neighborhood we had stayed in before, Lafayette Square, which has a lovely park, historical buildings, and good restaurants. Another topic you helped me research was the flavor selections at Clementine’s, a nearby ice cream shop, which we visited twice.

Our three big outings on the trip were the City Museum, the St. Louis Zoo, and the Gateway Arch. Though we’d been to the City Museum before, we had never gotten rooftop passes before. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t worth it, though you and your dad went on a Ferris wheel that looked terrifyingly high. It was still a good time, and we had a lot of fun exploring the rest of the place, including some nooks and crannies we hadn’t noticed before. The zoo was great, of course, and you felt a special kinship with some of the animals. I had a hard time choosing whether to include the picture of you below (the Wild Child) or one with the Somali Wild Ass. Guess which animal’s name you chanted more.

We found several good restaurants with outdoor seating, and the weather was so nice that we were able to relax and enjoy them. One thing I really miss about pre-pandemic life is restaurant dining. I know a lot of people have returned to it, but we aren’t doing that just yet. That makes it extra special to find good outdoor places. The first one we enjoyed was a pizza place near the City Museum. It made for a pleasant break from the crowds, and the piping-hot pizza helped me remember life before takeout and delivery were our main pizza consumption channels. The second was a brewpub in our Lafayette Square neighborhood. We met up with a friend of your dad’s and had a fun evening. Finally, on our way out of town, we got enormous pancakes and waffles at a place with a pretty patio.

You kept a great attitude the whole time, enjoying all the activities and relaxing cocktail hours that come with vacation. It made me glad to know that you had so much fun. As our family’s greatest tradition enthusiast, you enjoyed returning to old favorite places. We talk a lot about European trips, which are all still in the fantasy realm, but that doesn’t stop you from hunting for vacation rentals with me. We’ve identified some lovely city apartments in Rome and houses with pools in the Spanish countryside.

The mini-vacation had to end, and you went back to school. Even though you moan and groan about getting out of bed in the morning, you really thrive in the school environment. You have so many friends—every day when I pick you and Callum up, we’re met with a long succession of people yelling, “Bye, Tobin!” You’ve been enjoying learning about computer programming in ELP, playing with your friends at recess, and playing saxophone in the school band. I’ve gotten accustomed to the level of musical expertise the City High band displays, so it will be very interesting to go to your first concert in December and hear how a bunch of fifth graders sound.

Right now you’re trying to decide which sport to play in the spring. You had a good experience playing soccer this fall, and you’re strongly considering playing the spring as well. I told you that you need to pick between soccer and baseball, though, because I don’t have it in me to handle both. I’m hoping for soccer, myself. Now that you’ve joined, I find it hard to believe we haven’t been a soccer family all along. I genuinely enjoy watching the games, and I see friends among the adults at almost every game. We’ve been carpooling to practice, so I haven’t even had to do all that much driving. You say that you like playing soccer more, but you like the social elements of baseball. Since Callum usually played on the same nights as you but at a different time, you had a lot of hangout time at the baseball fields to have fun with friends and spend your savings at the concession stand.

Your current favorites: spicy chips (served with a large glass of milk), ice cream, online and in-person after-school hangouts with friends, helping prepare your Halloween costume, reading the Masterminds book series by Gordon Korman, listening to audiobooks, Star Wars, and wearing comfy clothes. Today was school picture day, and I convinced you to wear a nice sweater, but you insisted on sweatpants for your lower half. I couldn’t argue with your logic that they wouldn’t show.

I love you, you freckle-faced smile machine. Thanks for bringing me on your adventures.

Love,

Mom