Dear Tobin,

As usual, you’ve approached the last month with enthusiasm and vigor. You play with friends almost every day after school, and you’re always up to some kind of plan or adventure. Earlier this month, you and two of your neighborhood friends earned almost a hundred dollars by raking people’s yards on one afternoon. You claim to be saving up to build a gaming PC, though I’m not sure you really know what that project entails. Your dad seems reluctant to get you started on that, maybe because he anticipates how much of it he would end up doing. You already spend a fair amount of time playing video games on the devices we own, so adding another piece of hardware (many different pieces, I’d guess) might not be the best strategy for your development.

Another money-making scheme of yours is participating in scientific experiments. You tell me to sign you up whenever an experiment comes along that you are eligible for, and you’ve raked in a good amount of money and gift cards for your efforts. Your most recent one is a study of talented and gifted youth. You filled out a survey, did an interview, did activities on a computer, had your vitals measured (including the hand-scan below, which was measuring your finger proportions), took an IQ test, and sent in a saliva sample for genetic analysis.

We haven’t received the results of the IQ test yet, and I actually told the graduate student who administered the test that I’d rather not know. I feel like there’s not much benefit to knowing your own or your child’s IQ. I think of you as really smart, and there’s no need to put a number on that. If your score on that one test on that one day were lower than I expected, I’d feel sad. If your score were really high, you might get an overinflated ego or put too much pressure on yourself to succeed. Either way, we’re happy to support the research, and the details matter less than the fact that I know you’re a creative, bright, friendly, excellent kid. You’re also happy to get Amazon gift cards.

You had a fun Halloween, joining up with a group of friends in a neighborhood not too far from ours. You were a Chaos Agent, which I guess is a character from the video game Fortnite. I had never heard of it, but you showed me a picture, and I did the best I could. I think the costume turned out pretty cool. It was a chilly night, but you were pretty well-bundled and came home with lots of candy. You were kind enough to include Callum in your group, at least to start. He is good friends with the little brother of one of your friends, so it worked out well for a little-kids’ subgroup to form. Your dad walked with the little kids, and the bigger kids were free-range. Luckily everyone stayed safe and watched out for each other. It was a good night, and I think you’re finally through your candy.

You’ve enjoyed having more free time now that soccer season is over. As I mentioned above, you spend most afternoons playing with friends. You always want plenty of warning on stir-fry night, though, so you can help me make it. You also are an expert pizza maker. Mubby and Skitter were visiting a couple of weeks ago when we made Tobin’s Famous Pizza, and it was fun to include them. We only make one smallish pizza at a time, so it becomes an entire-evening affair, with the whole family involved. This time around, you not only did your usual saucing, pepperoni-ing, and cheesing, but you also cut up vegetables. You’re a pretty big vegetable-eater most of the time, but for pizza, you’re a purist. Luckily there were other pizza-eaters who appreciated the peppers and onions.

We’ve been talking a lot about our 2026 Europe trip, and I know the pizza part will be fun for you. Maybe we could even take a cooking class or do some other culinary activity. You have an adventurous spirit, and we’ll have a wonderful time learning together. Our spring break trip to the Florida Keys is coming up in a few months, and we’ve been sighing over how excited we are to get there. Not only do you love adventure, you love family traditions, and that’s what Keys are for us.

Your current favorites: helping me plan travel, such as scouring VRBO for possible European vacation rentals and viewing the one we already have booked for the Keys; being wiggly and not staying in your chair through meals; your favorite Adidas sweatpants and cozy hoodie; playing soccer and other sports with your friends; cooking and trying new foods; and reading (especially the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book you got at the school book fair and anything by Rick Riordan).

You’re a joy, a spark, a dash of flavor in our family sauce. I love you so much, Tobin.

Love,

Mom