My Homeboy

Wes is smack dab in the middle of our fab five. Being the 'middle-middle' child (wedged between two other 'middles') can be a hard spot. It is a spot that can be easily overlooked and forgotten, especially when this middle-middle child is 'on the surface' seemingly quiet. But, just as you don't always instantly see what makes a picture art-worthy and you have to study it for a little while to see what makes it truly a treasure, so it goes with our Wes. He may seem shy and quiet, but you just have to dig a bit beneath the surface to see what is going on in there. And taking the time to do so always yields treasure.

Some things that make Wes so different from the rest of our children is the fact that he is our 'homeboy'. He loves to be at home and dragging him on an errand consists of just that--dragging. We can be out together as a family doing something completely exciting, and he will inevitably come up to me and ask, 'can we leave now?'

He is our artist, sitting at his desk drawing for hours. He is our builder, creating and building ships out of his legos for hours. Playing by himself is no problem and often he prefers this. He is also quite orderly. He loves to clean his room and folding his clothes is his favorite chore (seriously. I'm not kidding). Don't get me wrong. He also has a wild streak, and can get pretty crazy and out of control at times. His theme song is 'Wild, Wild West' which we have renamed 'Wild, Wild Wes.'

I also enjoy the fact that he is the one child people tell me looks like me :) .

All of these things make Wes who he is. However, the one thing that I love most about him is his unassuming, dry wit. Often when Wes chooses to talk about something, it has been thought upon and pondered; thus, it comes across unusually witty and is said in just enough of a 'dry way' to make it extra funny. He has a unique mix of being analytical and methodical, yet also a creative 'outside the box' streak. This results in some very thought out, bizarre statements. A few years ago we began calling many of these statements and thoughts 'Wes-isms'.

Here are a couple of recent Wes-isms:

the other night at the dinner table, Eric asked the question, 'What is the one job you consider, yucky, one that you would never want to have?' Our two eldest piped up first, always ready with their reply: Sophie said she would not want to be a trashman. Joshua said he did not enjoy, presently, picking up our dog's poop. Four year old Jeremiah piped in with his answer. As usual, he didn't really make any sense--he just wanted to say something. I said I would not enjoy being a plumber. Eric said he would not like to have to be the one to scrape dead animals off of the road.

'So, Wes, what job would you not want to ever have?'

'Well, I would say that I would definitely not want to be the coach of the Kentucky Wildcats.'

................Bah-da-bing. Bah-da-bung.....................

The other night, as I was tucking Wes in, he said:

'Mom, remember how when we were arguing over who got to be the first ones in the car and you said 'whoever is first will be last and whoever is last will be first'?

'Yes, Wes, I remember.'

'Remember how Sophie and Joshua then kept arguing over who got to be last?

'Yes, Wes, I remember.'

'Well, really they were arguing over who wanted to be first because you said 'whoever is first will be last and whoever is last will be first.'

........Yes, let that sink in for a moment. He is exactly right, you know.