I'm going to close this year's books by sharing the best parental compliment Marty and I have ever received. Bookpimp and I were catching up after not having spoken for a few months. After giving him the family updates, the following ensued.

BOOKPIMP
If you and Marty had another kid, they'd be a shithead right?

TROY
Uhh, what?

BOOKPIMP
If you and Marty had a...

Now that the kids are older and either moved out or are often out, Marty and I are edging our way into those scary waters where a couple has just one another to talk to. When I was younger, I thought this period would resemble life before having kids. Light. Carefree. Easy. In some ways, it is, but when you have sent children you love more than you thought possible into the world, I think my mind ...

Alex recently came to Marty and asked if she was ok. She was and said as much. He asked again, seemingly not believing her first answer. She repeated she was fine and asked why he was asking. He said that he noticed that she had not made dinner on two of the three nights this week. Marty took a moment to recall the week, and yes, because of some atypical evening events, we did not have our usual f...

MARTY
This is Marty's tenth year back in the classroom, after taking a nine year hiatus to stay home with our kids. This year she returned to peak form. She would have gotten there sooner, but the covid-disruption set everyone's plans back. She is a marvel in the classroom and is someone who connects with young people far better than most. I see this every time we go to a school event in the w...

For years Bella wanted to be a waitress. I believe this began after she heard, "waitresses make bank!" After working a few counter-service jobs, she got hired at Red Lobster. They said she couldn't serve tables because she had no experience, but they would start her as a hostess and get her waiting tables in time. That never happened, and after a half year or so, Bella gave notice.

She t...

Anthony. Where to even begin in describing what it's like to exist near a now 16-year-old Anthony Walter DeArmitt.

His life mantra for the past few years has been, "it will probably be ok," and to date, he has been 100% right.

Even though academics might be one of his top skills/gifts, he has applied to a trade school where he will study the construction arts in his last two ye...

I recently, to Marty, compared Anthony to Bella saying that something he did reminded me of her. With zero pause, Marty quickly corrected me with the following.

Anthony walks into the kitchen to find me running the last serving from a box of Raisin Bran through a kitchen strainer.

ANTHONY (15)
Are you washing your cereal?

TROY
No, just sifting all the tiny broke pieces out. I don't like those.

ANTHONY
That's quite a process.

TROY
Not really. I've learned you just gotta be smarter than your problems. ...

Bella will graduate from college in December 2022. She will receive a degree in Public Policy & Administration. We, her parents, are doubly grateful as her college experience got off to a faltering start, mostly because she didn't want to go. She wanted to volunteer at a woman's shelter in Nepal straight out of high school. Marty and I deemed attending college a non-negotiable, at least for the fi...

Best friend Mike, known around these parts as Bookpimp, recently turned 50. To mark the milestone, he had planned a gathering of his three best buds, which techinically is two best friends and a brother. The original celebration got axed by the pandemic but was salvaged in late 2022 when things started normalizing. Months before the gathering, I reached out to the other two invitees, unbeknowst to...

Aleo began his college career this Fall. Like Bella, he elected to stay local. I already talked about his unsolicited scholarship, which made his attendance in a film program at this private university possible.

Alex has been interested in video production for years. He's watched hundreds, possibly thousands, of hours of videos on the subject...

After her morning shower, Marty dashes to the basement to get clean underwear. All she had on was a tank top. When she rounded the corner into the laundry room she saw anthony standing there, wearing only a hooded sweatshirt and, like her, no pants or underwear. Seeing his naked buttocks she pulled up and the following ensued.

MARTY
Oh!

ANFER (16)
Oh. hey.

MART...