Zander's Inside Voice

Boy #2 is about to be 17 on Thursday. This feels impossible because it’s gone by so fast. It’s also crazy to think that he’s THISCLOSE to being an adult. In some ways he’s ready for more responsibility and in other ways, he’s still very much a child.

He’s changed a lot since Boy #1 arrived. It’s good and bad. I think he feels a little relieved because he’s got one of his best friends back in person. But Boy #1 is intense and brings a lot of conversation and sometimes energy-sucking levels of intensity.

It’s been a long week and two days that we’ve had Boy #1 here and Boy #2’s stuttering is suddenly terrible again. It’s gotten so much better and barely noticeable until all this stress descended upon us. When parents #2 were here, he could barely get out a word without stuttering through it because he was so excited to have everyone here.

It’s slowly getting better again, but it’s nowhere near where it was before all of this. I wonder how it is for him at school.

He’s doing really well at school. He takes automotive classes and has a job lined up at a car dealership. He’s excited to work there because it’s much better pay than he’d ever get working at the grocery store nearby. So he’s set now. He has his teacher’s recommendation and he’s done two internship days there.

Hopefully he will start thinking hard about his future and what his plans are for after high school. Maybe it’s ridiculous to think that Boy #1’s slow start to adulthood will inspire him to get going more quickly, but I am hopeful.